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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Copa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,764,000. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in Copa in the third quarter valued at $4,723,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Copa in the 4th quarter valued at $1,438,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Copa by 250.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 128,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,059,000 after buying an additional 91,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Copa by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after buying an additional 7,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

Copa Price Performance

NYSE CPA opened at $92.57 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.58. Copa has a 52-week low of $80.01 and a 52-week high of $114.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.84 by $0.15. Copa had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 26.70%. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued 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 6.96%. Copa’s payout ratio is presently 44.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.