Copa (NYSE:CPA) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $137.49 and last traded at $137.30, with a volume of 26521 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $136.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CPA. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Copa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 4th. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on shares of Copa in a report on Sunday, November 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price target on Copa and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.00.

Copa Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.54.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.17. Copa had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 18.83%.The company had revenue of $913.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $917.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. Copa’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Copa in the 4th quarter worth $18,813,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Copa by 35.2% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 550,805 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,447,000 after buying an additional 143,497 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Copa by 153.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 229,076 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,219,000 after buying an additional 138,700 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Copa by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 547,618 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $65,068,000 after buying an additional 136,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Copa by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 340,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,488,000 after acquiring an additional 122,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

Copa Company Profile

Copa Holdings, SA (NYSE:CPA) is a Panama?based aviation holding company that provides passenger and cargo air transportation across the Americas and the Caribbean. Through its principal subsidiary, Copa Airlines, the company operates a modern fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, offering scheduled flights that connect passengers through its Tocumen International Airport hub in Panama City. The company also offers dedicated cargo services under the Copa Cargo brand, leveraging belly hold capacity on its passenger flights to transport freight throughout its network.

The roots of Copa Holdings trace back to 1947, when Compañía Panameña de Aviación began operations as the flag carrier of Panama.