Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) Short Interest Down 6.2% in December

Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,360,000 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the November 30th total of 1,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 352,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Copa Stock Performance

Shares of CPA opened at $87.88 on Thursday. Copa has a 52 week low of $80.01 and a 52 week high of $114.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.72.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The transportation company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $854.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $864.90 million. Copa had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 28.46%. Copa’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.39 EPS. Research analysts expect that Copa will post 14.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Copa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPA. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Copa in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,000. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Copa during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,723,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Copa by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 7,576 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Copa in the third quarter worth $9,764,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Copa by 250.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 128,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,059,000 after purchasing an additional 91,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.83.

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.