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6 Reasons Why Copa Holdings (CPA) Should be in Your Portfolio

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Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA - Free Report) is benefiting from continued recovery in air-travel demand. Fleet modernization efforts and focus on the cargo unit also bode well.

Against this backdrop, let’s look at the factors that make this stock an attractive pick.

What Makes Copa Holdings an Attractive Pick?

An Outperformer: A glimpse at the company’s price trend reveals that the stock has had an impressive run on the bourse over the past six months. Shares of Copa Holdings have gained 35% over the past six months compared with 12.3% growth of the industry it belongs to.

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Solid Rank & VGM Score: Copa Holdings currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 (Buy), offer the best investment opportunities. Thus, the company seems to be an appropriate investment proposition at the moment.

Northward Estimate Revisions: The direction of estimate revisions serves as an important pointer when it comes to the price of a stock. Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Copa Holdings’ second-quarter 2023 earnings has moved up 67.9% year over year. Estimates for 2023 and 2024 indicate year-over-year increase of 25.5% and 22.4%, respectively. 

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Copa Holdings has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 14.60% in the last four quarters, on average. 

Earnings Expectations: Earnings growth and stock price gains often indicate a company’s prospects. For second-quarter 2023, Copa Holdings’ earnings are expected to register more than 100% growth. For 2023 and 2024, the company’s earnings are expected to grow 75.42% and 2.82% year over year, respectively.

Growth Factors: Copa Holdings’ top line is benefiting from the recovery in air-travel demand. Operating revenues for the March quarter increased 29% to $867.3 million. On a consolidated basis, traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles) grew 7.1% in the first quarter of 2023 from first-quarter 2019 levels. Management expects the current-year load factor to be 85%, assuming the rosy traffic scenario continues.

Furthermore, the company’s fleet modernization efforts look encouraging. During the first quarter of 2023, the carrier took delivery of two Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. CPA's focus on its cargo segment is very encouraging. In first-quarter 2023, cargo and mail revenues jumped 51.8% to $23.25 million, owing to higher cargo volumes and yields.

Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks for investors interested in the Zacks Transportation sector are Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT - Free Report) and Triton International Limited .

Allegiant,currently sports a Zacks Rank #1,has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. ALGT delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 79.78%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALGT’s current-year earnings has improved 46.5% over the past 90 days. Shares of ALGT have soared 57.2% over the past six months.

Triton, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, benefits from its consistent efforts to reward shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Triton has an impressive liquidity position. Its current ratio (a measure of liquidity) was 3.97 at the end of first-quarter 2023. A current ratio of more than 1 often indicates that the company will be easily paying off its short-term obligations.


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