Copa (NYSE:CPA) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Buy Rating

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Copa (NYSE:CPA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $138.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $151.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Copa from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Copa from $185.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Copa from $212.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Copa Stock Down 0.5%

CPA stock opened at $118.55 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.93. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Copa has a 12 month low of $86.37 and a 12 month high of $156.41.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $4.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $962.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.22 million. Copa had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 25.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Copa Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Copa’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. Copa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copa

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its position in Copa by 13.7% during the third quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 209,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,881,000 after acquiring an additional 25,173 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Copa during the third quarter worth $4,363,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Copa by 657.8% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 19,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 17,175 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Copa by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,573,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $543,432,000 after acquiring an additional 40,285 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Copa by 14.9% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,537 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,510 shares during the period. 70.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Copa

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.