Copa (NYSE:CPA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $133.71 and last traded at $131.8820, with a volume of 22382 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CPA shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Copa from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price objective on Copa and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Copa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.00.

Copa Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $122.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.67.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $913.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $917.51 million. Copa had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 18.83%.Copa’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Copa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Copa by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,573,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $543,432,000 after buying an additional 40,285 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Copa by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $156,014,000 after purchasing an additional 42,921 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Copa by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 642,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,375,000 after purchasing an additional 22,177 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Copa by 16.6% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 552,249 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 78,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Copa by 35.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 550,805 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,447,000 after purchasing an additional 143,497 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

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.