Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) by 107.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,110 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 61,800 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Copa worth $10,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Copa during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,764,000. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new position in Copa during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,723,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Copa during the fourth quarter valued at $1,438,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 91,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Copa by 44.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,319,000 after acquiring an additional 7,576 shares during the period. 70.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Copa from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Copa from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copa currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.29.

Copa Price Performance

CPA opened at $92.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.58. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 12-month low of $80.01 and a 12-month high of $114.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.84 by $0.15. Copa had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 26.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.96%. Copa’s payout ratio is currently 44.23%.

About Copa

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.