Short Interest in Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Expands By 8.8%

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the December 31st total of 1,360,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 337,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Copa Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CPA opened at $90.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.44. Copa has a 1 year low of $80.01 and a 1 year high of $114.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.16.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The transportation company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. Copa had a return on equity of 28.46% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $854.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $864.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Copa will post 14.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $1.61 dividend. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Copa’s payout ratio is 42.59%.

Institutional Trading of Copa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CPA. Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Copa in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,166,000. Marathon Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Copa by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 514,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,297,000 after buying an additional 8,524 shares in the last quarter. Wishbone Management LP lifted its position in shares of Copa by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wishbone Management LP now owns 420,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,413,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Copa by 7,848.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 418,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,280,000 after buying an additional 413,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Copa by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 354,483 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,265,000 after purchasing an additional 59,773 shares during the period. 70.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CPA shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Copa has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.29.

Copa Company Profile

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.