Marathon Asset Management Ltd Acquires 8,524 Shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 514,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 8,524 shares during the period. Copa accounts for about 1.3% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 1.31% of Copa worth $48,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sciencast Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Copa by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 2,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Copa by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Copa by 1.1% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 11,845 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its stake in Copa by 11.3% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 2,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Copa by 9.1% during the second quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 3,696 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Copa from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Copa from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Copa from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Copa from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.83.

Copa Price Performance

Shares of CPA opened at $101.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.17. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 1-year low of $78.12 and a 1-year high of $114.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The transportation company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $819.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.13 million. Copa had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 30.81%. Copa’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.33%.

About Copa

Copa Holdings, SA, through its subsidiaries, provides airline passenger and cargo services. The company offers approximately 327 daily scheduled flights to 78 destinations in 32 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean from its Panama City hub. As of December 31, 2022, it operated a fleet of 97 aircraft comprising 67 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, 9 Boeing 737-700 Next Generation aircraft, 1 Boeing 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter, and 20 737-MAX aircraft.