Wall Street Zen Upgrades Copa (NYSE:CPA) to Buy

Copa (NYSE:CPA) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

CPA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Itau BBA Securities began coverage on Copa in a research note on Sunday, November 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 target price on shares of Copa and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Copa presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.00.

Copa Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of CPA opened at $154.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.06. Copa has a fifty-two week low of $82.54 and a fifty-two week high of $154.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.25. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.17. Copa had a net margin of 18.83% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company had revenue of $913.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $917.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Copa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,573,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $543,432,000 after purchasing an additional 40,285 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Copa by 3.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $156,014,000 after buying an additional 42,921 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Copa by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 642,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,375,000 after buying an additional 22,177 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Copa by 35.2% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 550,805 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,447,000 after buying an additional 143,497 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Copa by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 547,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,068,000 after acquiring an additional 136,719 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copa Company Profile

Copa Holdings, SA (NYSE:CPA) is a Panama‐based aviation holding company that provides passenger and cargo air transportation across the Americas and the Caribbean. Through its principal subsidiary, Copa Airlines, the company operates a modern fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, offering scheduled flights that connect passengers through its Tocumen International Airport hub in Panama City. The company also offers dedicated cargo services under the Copa Cargo brand, leveraging belly hold capacity on its passenger flights to transport freight throughout its network.

The roots of Copa Holdings trace back to 1947, when Compañía Panameña de Aviación began operations as the flag carrier of Panama.