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Copa Holdings (CPA) Traffic Increases 13.2% in August

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Latin American carrier Copa Holdings SA (CPA - Free Report) posted a rise in air traffic for the month of August this year. Traffic – measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – came in at 1.56 billion, up 13.2% from 1.38 billion recorded in Aug 2015.

On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) increased 3.4% to 1.87 billion. As the increase in traffic outpaced growth in capacity, load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) climbed 730 basis points (bps) to 83.7% in the month.

For the first eight months of 2016, Copa Holdings generated RPMs of 11.68 billion (up 6.6% year over year) and ASMs of 14.67 billion (up 1.3%). Load factor registered growth of 390 bps year over year to 79.6% during the period.

Although traffic growth has been impressive, the company continues to face the brunt of weak economic conditions in Brazil and strengthening of the U.S. dollar like other Latin American carriers including GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. . However, the Olympic Games held in Brazil may boost third-quarter revenues for Copa Holdings.

Estimates on the Rise

We note that earnings estimates for Copa Holdings have displayed a healthy uptrend. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 earnings has gone up by $4.25 to $4.45 per share while the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 earnings jumped $5.34 over the last month to $5.94 per share.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Apart from Copa Holdings – a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock – investors interested in the broader transportation space may consider companies like SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW - Free Report) and ANA Holdings Inc. (ALNPY - Free Report) , both of which carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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