Artemis Investment Management LLP Acquires 58,133 Shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. $CPA

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Copa by 14.8% in Q4, buying 58,133 shares to hold 451,756 shares (about 1.10%) valued at $54.49 million.
• Copa raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 (annualized $6.84), paid March 13 with an ex-dividend date of Feb 27, implying a ~5.9% yield and a 42.04% payout ratio.
• Recent results and valuation: Copa beat Q4 EPS estimates ($4.46 vs. $4.44) and saw revenue rise 9.6% to $962.9M; the stock trades at a P/E of 7.14 with a market cap around $4.78B.

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 451,756 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 58,133 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 1.10% of Copa worth $54,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CPA. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in Copa by 4.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its stake in Copa by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 6,032 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Copa by 5.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Copa by 90.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Copa by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Copa Stock Performance

NYSE CPA opened at $116.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.98 and a 200-day moving average of $125.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.94. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 52-week low of $93.33 and a 52-week high of $156.41.

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

Copa Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Copa from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Copa from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Copa from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $151.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Copa in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $165.00.

Copa 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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