Reviewing Copa (NYSE:CPA) and ANA (OTCMKTS:ALNPY)

ANA (OTCMKTS:ALNPY) and Copa (NYSE:CPA) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ANA and Copa”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ANA	$14.85 billion	0.60	$1.01 billion	$0.42	9.01
Copa	$3.62 billion	1.26	$671.65 million	$16.27	6.82

ANA has higher revenue and earnings than Copa. Copa is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ANA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

ANA has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Copa has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ANA pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Copa pays an annual dividend of $6.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. ANA pays out 14.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Copa pays out 42.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Copa has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Copa is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.1% of Copa shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for ANA and Copa, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ANA	0	1	0	0	2.00
Copa	0	2	9	1	2.92

Copa has a consensus price target of $166.30, indicating a potential upside of 49.79%. Given Copa’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Copa is more favorable than ANA.

Profitability

This table compares ANA and Copa’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ANA	6.47%	12.84%	4.23%
Copa	18.57%	25.62%	10.92%

Summary

Copa beats ANA on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ANA

ANA Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Japan and internationally. It operates through Air Transportation, Aviation-Related Business, Travel Business, and Trading Business segments. The Air Transportation segment offers regular and irregular air transport of passengers, cargo, etc. on domestic and international routes. The Aviation-Related Business segment provides services incidental to air transportation, such as airport handling and maintenance. The Travel Business develops and sells travel products, as well as plans and sells package travel products. The Trading Business imports and exports aviation-related materials, as well as sells through stores and mail-order channels. The company was formerly known as All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. and changed its name to ANA Holdings Inc. in April 2013. ANA Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1920 and is headquartered in Minato, Japan.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 375 daily scheduled flights to 82 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 106 aircraft comprising 76 Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, and one Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Panama City, Panama.