Wall Street Zen Upgrades Copa (NYSE:CPA) to “Strong-Buy”

Copa (NYSE:CPA) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Copa from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Copa in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price objective on Copa and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copa currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $159.43.

Copa Price Performance

Copa stock opened at $121.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $122.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.90. Copa has a 1 year low of $82.54 and a 1 year high of $130.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $913.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $917.51 million. Copa had a net margin of 18.83% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CPA. Capital World Investors raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 40,285 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Copa by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $156,014,000 after buying an additional 42,921 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 22,177 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Copa by 16.6% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Copa by 35.2% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 550,805 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,447,000 after acquiring an additional 143,497 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

About Copa

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.