Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Short Interest Down 18.6% in March

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the February 28th total of 1,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 312,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CPA. UBS Group lifted their target price on Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $153.29.

Institutional Trading of Copa

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Copa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Copa by 147.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 991 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Copa in the 4th quarter worth $225,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Copa by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Copa by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Copa Trading Down 1.3 %

CPA stock opened at $90.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 6.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.42. Copa has a one year low of $80.01 and a one year high of $114.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $0.15. Copa had a return on equity of 26.70% and a net margin of 17.67%. As a group, analysts predict that Copa will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.15%. Copa’s payout ratio is 44.23%.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, SA, through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 375 daily scheduled flights to 82 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 106 aircraft comprising 76 Boeing 737-Next Generation aircraft, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, and one Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter.