Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $289,000 Investment in Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Copa by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 561,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,380,000 after buying an additional 44,298 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Copa during the 4th quarter worth $46,433,000. Marathon Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Copa by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 521,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,821,000 after acquiring an additional 6,723 shares during the period. Wishbone Management LP increased its stake in shares of Copa by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wishbone Management LP now owns 420,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,413,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its holdings in Copa by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 388,686 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,158,000 after purchasing an additional 3,657 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Copa Stock Performance

NYSE:CPA opened at $95.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.42. Copa Holdings, S.A. has a 12-month low of $80.01 and a 12-month high of $114.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Copa (NYSE:CPA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The transportation company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.84 by $0.15. Copa had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 26.70%. Equities research analysts forecast that Copa Holdings, S.A. will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $6.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.74%. Copa’s dividend 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.