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

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) saw 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. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 268,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Copa Price Performance

NYSE:CPA traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $91.05. 238,114 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 274,915. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.47. Copa has a 12 month low of $78.12 and a 12 month high of $121.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $98.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $893.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Copa will post 16.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Copa’s payout ratio is 46.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Copa by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,336 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Copa by 17.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 107,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,196,000 after purchasing an additional 16,238 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Copa by 61.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 294,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,050,000 after purchasing an additional 112,143 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its position in Copa by 60.3% during the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 4,430 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Copa by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 118,013 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,232,000 after buying an additional 1,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

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.