COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Short Interest Update

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 6,761,614 shares, an increase of 34.9% from the February 26th total of 5,011,698 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,026,445 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total value of $181,082.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,188 shares in the company, valued at $496,799.48. This trade represents a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CDP. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1,176.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 31.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CDP has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.88.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.0%

CDP traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $30.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,025,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,070,487. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $23.92 and a 1 year high of $32.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.54 and its 200-day moving average is $29.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $197.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $188.79 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.94% and a return on equity of 9.82%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.790 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.670-0.690 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.37%.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) is a real estate investment trust organized to own, lease and manage healthcare and life science facilities serving the United States federal government, with a particular focus on Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs tenants. The company was formed in 2016 through a spin-off from Corporate Office Properties Trust, enabling it to concentrate exclusively on medical office buildings and specialized research facilities situated on or near military and federal research campuses.

The company’s portfolio comprises purpose-built, Class A medical office and outpatient specialty clinics, as well as life science laboratories.