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

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

Copa Stock Performance

Shares of Copa stock opened at $90.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Copa has a 52-week low of $80.01 and a 52-week high of $114.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.40 and a 200-day moving average of $92.24.

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

Copa Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Copa’s payout ratio is 42.59%.

Institutional Trading of Copa

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Copa during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,764,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Copa during the third quarter valued at approximately $611,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Copa by 15.5% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 37,742 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,542,000 after acquiring an additional 5,054 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its holdings in Copa by 45.0% in the third quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 156,985 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $14,731,000 after acquiring an additional 48,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Copa by 7,848.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 418,588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,280,000 after acquiring an additional 413,322 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CPA. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copa has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.