Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Copa (NYSE:CPA) to “Strong-Buy”

Copa (NYSE:CPA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on CPA. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Copa from $155.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Copa in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Copa from $212.00 to $171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Copa from $185.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $168.91.

Copa Stock Performance

NYSE CPA opened at $150.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Copa has a 1-year low of $99.32 and a 1-year high of $156.41.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The transportation company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Copa had a return on equity of 26.01% and a net margin of 18.76%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Copa will post 15.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPA. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Copa by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,573,570 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $543,432,000 after acquiring an additional 40,285 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Copa by 14.9% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 65,537 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,510 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Copa in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,809,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Copa by 3.6% in the third 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. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Copa in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,266,000. Hedge funds and other 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.