Reviewing Copa (CPA) and Its Rivals

Copa (NYSE:CPA) is one of 37 public companies in the “TRANS – AIRLINE” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Copa to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and valuation.

Dividends

Copa pays an annual dividend of $6.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Copa pays out 42.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “TRANS – AIRLINE” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 24.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Copa has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Copa and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Copa	$3.62 billion	$671.65 million	6.82
Copa Competitors	$14.07 billion	$672.84 million	26.99

Copa’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Copa. Copa is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

Copa has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Copa’s competitors have a beta of 11.12, suggesting that their average share price is 1,012% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Copa and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Copa	0	2	9	1	2.92
Copa Competitors	652	2289	3411	240	2.49

Copa currently has a consensus price target of $166.30, suggesting a potential upside of 49.79%. As a group, “TRANS – AIRLINE” companies have a potential upside of 34.09%. Given Copa’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Copa is more favorable than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Copa and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Copa	18.57%	25.62%	10.92%
Copa Competitors	5.09%	18.23%	4.20%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

70.1% of Copa shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.5% of shares of all “TRANS – AIRLINE” companies are owned by institutional investors. 8.5% of shares of all “TRANS – AIRLINE” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Copa beats its competitors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Copa Company Profile

Copa Holdings, S.A., 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. The company was founded in 1947 and is based in Panama City, Panama.