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

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $167.75.

Several research analysts have commented on CPA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Copa from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $151.00 in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Copa from $150.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Copa Stock Performance

NYSE:CPA opened at $122.19 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.89. Copa has a 1 year low of $82.54 and a 1 year high of $156.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.45. 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 (NYSE:CPA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $962.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.22 million. Copa had a return on equity of 25.62% and a net margin of 18.57%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a positive change from Copa’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Copa’s payout ratio is currently 42.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Copa in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Copa during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Copa by 408.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Copa by 90.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Copa by 271.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is owned by 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.