Short Interest in Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Expands By 47.2%

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, an increase of 47.2% from the June 30th total of 930,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 268,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CPA. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Copa in a research report on Friday, May 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Copa from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Copa from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Copa from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $157.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Copa

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Copa by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 444,576 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,263,000 after acquiring an additional 25,811 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Copa during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,878,000. Deltec Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Copa by 38.9% during the first quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 116,071 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,090,000 after buying an additional 32,526 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Copa in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Copa during the 4th quarter worth $873,000. 70.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Copa Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of CPA stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $90.66. 149,265 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 274,298. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Copa has a 12-month low of $78.12 and a 12-month high of $121.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.57.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The transportation company reported $4.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.92. Copa had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm had revenue of $893.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.73 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.99 EPS. Copa’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Copa will post 16.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, SA, through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 327 daily scheduled flights to 78 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2022, it operated a fleet of 97 aircraft comprising 67 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, 9 Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft, 1 Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter, and 20 737-MAX aircraft.