Copa Holdings, S.A. $CPA Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Copa were worth $4,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copa in the 1st quarter valued at $306,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Copa by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 351,310 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,912,000 after acquiring an additional 17,113 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Copa by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Copa by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,396,963 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $158,691,000 after acquiring an additional 52,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Copa by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,479 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. 70.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Copa Price Performance

Copa stock opened at $141.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.46. The stock has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.00. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 12-month low of $107.44 and a 12-month high of $160.46.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The transportation company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.73. Copa had a return on equity of 26.01% and a net margin of 18.76%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. Copa’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 16.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Copa’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CPA shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Copa from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Copa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Copa in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Copa in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Copa from $138.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.73.

About Copa

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.