COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,520,000 shares, a decline of 7.1% from the March 15th total of 3,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 941,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.28. 1,327,557 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,497. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $21.73 and a 12-month high of $26.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.30%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -176.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CDP shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of COPT Defense Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded COPT Defense Properties from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.86.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements.