Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Copa Holdings, S.A. $CPA

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) by 31.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,175 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 18,173 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Copa were worth $8,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Copa by 111.1% during the second quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 184,228 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,260,000 after acquiring an additional 96,968 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in Copa during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Copa by 26.2% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 214,533 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,592,000 after buying an additional 44,513 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Copa by 27.4% during the second quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 71,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,905,000 after buying an additional 15,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Copa by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 192,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,212,000 after acquiring an additional 14,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

Copa Stock Performance

Shares of CPA stock opened at $133.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 12-month low of $82.54 and a 12-month high of $138.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $124.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.62. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Copa Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CPA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Copa from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 price target on shares of Copa and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Copa in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on shares of Copa in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. 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 data from MarketBeat, Copa currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.00.

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.