Back to top
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) - free report >>
Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE) - free report >>
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) - free report >>
Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE) - free report >>
Image: Bigstock
Copa Holdings' December Traffic Rises, Load Factor Down
Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA - Free Report) posted mixed traffic numbers for December 2018. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) declined as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion.
Consolidated traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles or RPMs) came in at 1.9 billion, up 5.3% from the year-ago figure. On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) rose 6% to 2.3 billion. However, consolidated load factor contracted 0.5 percentage points (pp) to 82.1%.
For 2018, Copa Holdings generated RPMs of 21.5 billion (up 8.1% year over year) and ASMs of 25.8 billion (up 7.9% year over year). Consequently, load factor registered a rise of 0.2 pp year over year to 83.4%.
Copa Holdings, S.A. Price
Copa Holdings, S.A. Price | Copa Holdings, S.A. Quote
In spite of the increase in December traffic, the carrier has its own share of challenges. Despite the current downtrend in oil prices, fuel costs are expected to hurt bottom-line growth in the final quarter of 2018. Escalating operating expenses are also expected to dent the bottom line. Currency devaluation in certain Latin American economies is an added challenge for Copa Holdings.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Copa Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
A few better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Airline industry are Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE - Free Report) , Azul S.A. (AZUL - Free Report) and Allegiant Travel Company (ALGT - Free Report) . While Allegiant carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Spirit Airlines and Azul sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of Spirit Airlines and Azul have gained 42.5% and 49.6% in the past six months, respectively. Meanwhile, Allegiant outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, the average being 18.7%.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?
Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.
See Latest Stocks Today >>