Copa (NYSE:CPA) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $147.33, but opened at $139.32. Copa shares last traded at $140.8590, with a volume of 4,875 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CPA shares. Wall Street Zen raised Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Copa in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Copa and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Copa currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.75.

Copa Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The transportation company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.44 by ($0.26). Copa had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 25.62%. The company had revenue of $962.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Copa Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Copa’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.61. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is 39.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CPA. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Copa by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,603,671 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,249,000 after acquiring an additional 30,101 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Copa by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,647,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $198,739,000 after buying an additional 44,834 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Copa by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,344,720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $162,185,000 after acquiring an additional 31,699 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Copa by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 654,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $78,979,000 after acquiring an additional 12,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Copa by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 654,255 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $78,910,000 after acquiring an additional 22,126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.