Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts: Copa has an average recommendation of “Buy” from 12 brokerages (10 Buy, 1 Strong Buy, 1 Hold) with an average 1-year target price of $165, and recent firm targets range up to $190.
• Results & valuation: Copa slightly beat the quarter (EPS $4.46 vs $4.44; revenue $962.9M), shows strong profitability (ROE 25.62%, net margin 18.57%) and trades at a low PE of 7.13 with a $4.77B market cap.
• Dividend & ownership: The quarterly dividend was raised to $1.71 ($6.84 annualized) for a yield of about 5.9% with a 42% payout ratio, and institutional/hedge funds own roughly 70% of the stock.

Shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $165.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CPA. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Copa in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Copa from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on Copa from $185.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Copa in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Copa in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copa

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Copa by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 324 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in shares of Copa by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,193 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Copa by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 6,032 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in shares of Copa by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Copa by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.09% of the company's stock.

Copa Price Performance

CPA opened at $116.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.01. Copa has a 1 year low of $87.08 and a 1 year high of $156.41.

Copa (NYSE:CPA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $4.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $962.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.22 million. Copa had a return on equity of 25.62% and a net margin of 18.57%.Copa's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Copa will post 14.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Copa's previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Copa's payout ratio is presently 42.04%.

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.

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