Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Copa Stock Performance

CPA opened at $90.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Copa has a 1 year low of $80.01 and a 1 year high of $114.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 5.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.44.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The transportation company reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $854.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $864.90 million. Copa had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 28.46%. Copa’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.39 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Copa will post 14.44 EPS for the current year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $1.61 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.14%. Copa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copa by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 18,568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP increased its position in Copa by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 15,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,371,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Copa by 90.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Copa by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Copa in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,438,000. 70.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on CPA shares. StockNews.com lowered Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.