Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.00.

CPA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Itau BBA Securities initiated coverage on Copa in a report on Sunday, November 30th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price objective on Copa and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday.

Copa Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE:CPA opened at $154.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92. Copa has a one year low of $82.54 and a one year high of $154.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.25.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $913.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $917.51 million. Copa had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 18.83%.Copa’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Copa in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,042,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Copa by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Copa by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 409,572 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,398,000 after buying an additional 34,982 shares during the last quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copa by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 8,468 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Copa during the 4th quarter valued at $306,000. 70.09% of the stock is 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.