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COPT Defense Properties
(NYSE:CDP)
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Rating:73Outperform
Price Target:
$42.00
â–²(29.27% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/21/26
The score is driven primarily by improved financial performance (strong margins and cash flow) and a constructive earnings update with raised guidance and continued operating momentum. The main constraints are balance-sheet leverage and a higher-rate financing headwind that is expected to mute near-term growth; technicals and valuation are supportive but not decisive.
Positive Factors
Margins & Cash Generation
Sustained high margins and solid free cash flow provide durable internal funding for dividends, development and debt service. For a defense-focused REIT, consistent cash generation from long-term leases supports capital allocation and resilience across multi-year funding cycles.
Negative Factors
Elevated Leverage
Debt materially above equity constrains financial flexibility and raises refinancing risk. In a higher-rate environment, leverage limits ability to pursue opportunistic investments and increases sensitivity to cash flow shocks or slower leasing cycles over the next several quarters.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Margins & Cash Generation
Sustained high margins and solid free cash flow provide durable internal funding for dividends, development and debt service. For a defense-focused REIT, consistent cash generation from long-term leases supports capital allocation and resilience across multi-year funding cycles.
Read all positive factors
COPT Defense Properties (CDP) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$8.46B
Dividend Yield4.3%
Average Volume (3M)928.35K
Price to Earnings (P/E)26.7
Beta (1Y)0.31
Revenue Growth3.86%
EPS Growth10.46%
CountryUS
Employees427
SectorReal Estate
Sector Strength53
IndustryREIT - Office
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.38
Shares Outstanding113,376,884
10 Day Avg. Volume965,862
30 Day Avg. Volume928,354
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio2.11
Price to Book (P/B)2.06
Price to Sales (P/S)4.09
P/FCF Ratio12.33
Enterprise Value/Market Cap0.75
Enterprise Value/Revenue8.15
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit25.55
Enterprise Value/Ebitda15.06
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$37.20Price Target Upside14.50% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)1.34
Revenue Forecast (FY)$760.26M
COPT Defense Properties Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
COPT is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that focuses on the ownership, management, leasing, development, and strategic acquisition of office and data center assets. The majority of its portfolio is dedicated to serving the United States Gove...
How the Company Makes Money
CDP primarily makes money by leasing its real estate to tenants and collecting contractual rent under long-term lease agreements. Its core revenue stream is base rental income from office properties (and related mission-support facilities) leased ...
COPT Defense Properties Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 27, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 27, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed predominantly positive operational and financial momentum: strong FFO growth (6.2% YoY), rising NOI and occupancy, robust renewal and development activity, sizable capital commitments, a Moody's upgrade, and increased guidance and dividend. Notable headwinds include higher financing costs driving a near-term earnings drag (~$0.09 of additional interest), some one-time expense items, and timing uncertainty around defense budget appropriations. On balance the company demonstrated strength across leasing, development, balance sheet, and strategy execution, while acknowledging manageable near-term financial and timing challenges.Positive Updates
FFO per Share Growth
Q1 FFO per share of $0.69, $0.01 above midpoint guidance, representing a 6.2% year-over-year increase and marking the 23rd consecutive quarter of YoY FFO growth.
Negative Updates
Higher Financing Costs
Prefunded $400M maturity by issuing $400M of five-year unsecured notes at 4.5%, replacing prior 2.25% bond; increased interest expense results in approximately $0.09 of higher financing costs in 2026.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
FFO per Share Growth
Q1 FFO per share of $0.69, $0.01 above midpoint guidance, representing a 6.2% year-over-year increase and marking the 23rd consecutive quarter of YoY FFO growth.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management elevated several pieces of forward guidance: the midpoint of full‑year FFO per share was raised $0.01 to $2.76 (Q1 FFO was $0.69, $0.01 above midpoint and +6.2% YoY), Q2 FFO per share is guided to $0.68–$0.70, same‑property cash NOI growth midpoint was increased 50 bps to 3% (Q1 same‑property cash NOI +5.4% YoY), tenant retention midpoint was raised 250 bps to 82.5%, and the midpoint for capital committed to new investments was increased $40 million to $290 million; management reiterated a conservative AFFO payout ratio below 65% and noted 2026 FFO growth is expected to be muted (~1.5%) due to a $0.09 annual financing cost headwind.COPT Defense Properties Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
60
Neutral
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 776.70M | 763.92M | 753.27M | 684.98M | 739.03M | 664.45M |
| Gross Profit | 247.84M | 117.85M | 260.36M | 231.23M | 220.41M | 209.47M |
| EBITDA | 420.36M | 408.97M | 384.02M | 150.31M | 354.46M | 294.41M |
| Net Income | 156.13M | 152.31M | 138.93M | -73.47M | 173.03M | 76.54M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 4.46B | 4.70B | 4.25B | 4.25B | 4.26B | 4.26B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 28.58M | 274.99M | 38.28M | 167.82M | 12.34M | 13.26M |
| Total Debt | 2.59B | 2.81B | 2.44B | 2.45B | 2.26B | 2.30B |
| Total Liabilities | 2.87B | 3.11B | 2.69B | 2.70B | 2.51B | 2.58B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.51B | 1.51B | 1.49B | 1.48B | 1.68B | 1.62B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 305.35M | 253.68M | 299.61M | 255.77M | 229.45M | 219.12M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 359.27M | 334.93M | 330.95M | 276.27M | 265.82M | 249.15M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -327.50M | -314.74M | -291.01M | -169.62M | -83.46M | -202.97M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -27.45M | 216.54M | -169.67M | 46.26M | -183.18M | -50.90M |
COPT Defense Properties Technical Analysis
Positive
32.49
Price Trends
32.83
Positive
32.09
Positive
30.29
Positive
Market Momentum
1.29
Negative
70.53
Negative
84.67
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CDP, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 32.49 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 34.82, below the 50-day MA of 32.83, and above the 200-day MA of 30.29, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 1.29 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 70.53 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 84.67 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CDP.
COPT Defense Properties Risk Analysis
COPT Defense Properties disclosed 39 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. COPT Defense Properties reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
COPT Defense Properties Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (65)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
73 Outperform | $8.46B | 26.68 | 10.35% | 4.30% | 3.86% | 10.46% | |
67 Neutral | $3.53B | 38.20 | 3.94% | 7.83% | 0.88% | -47.90% | |
65 Neutral | $2.17B | 12.19 | 3.79% | 4.94% | 3.15% | 1.96% | |
65 Neutral | $5.04B | -940.37 | -0.11% | 5.08% | 12.11% | -109.72% | |
63 Neutral | $4.62B | 20.97 | 4.05% | 5.75% | -1.42% | 8.81% | |
56 Neutral | $3.97B | -21.48 | -3.89% | 6.95% | 7.65% | -478.02% | |
54 Neutral | $2.11B | -77.40 | -1.35% | 6.45% | 1.04% | -152.10% |
* Real Estate Sector Average
CDP
COPT Defense Properties
36.82
9.74
35.97%
CUZ
Cousins Properties
30.75
3.27
11.90%
DEI
Douglas Emmett
12.19
-2.48
-16.89%
HIW
Highwoods Properties
32.09
3.38
11.79%
KRC
Kilroy Realty
38.80
5.42
16.24%
SLG
SL Green Realty
50.27
-8.75
-14.83%
COPT Defense Properties Corporate Events
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
COPT Defense Shareholders Back Governance and Leadership Slate
Positive
May 20, 2026
On May 14, 2026, COPT Defense Properties held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, where investors approved the election of eight trustees to one-year terms, including incumbents and new leadership overseeing the company’s strategy in de...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.