SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) and Copa Holdings, (NYSE:CPA) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitabiliy, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.
Dividends
SkyWest pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Copa Holdings, pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. SkyWest pays out -11.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Copa Holdings, pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
90.1% of SkyWest shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.2% of Copa Holdings, shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of SkyWest shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for SkyWest and Copa Holdings,, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| SkyWest | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.80 |
| Copa Holdings, | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2.60 |
SkyWest presently has a consensus price target of $40.50, indicating a potential upside of 9.91%. Copa Holdings, has a consensus price target of $101.22, indicating a potential downside of 19.84%. Given SkyWest’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe SkyWest is more favorable than Copa Holdings,.
Risk & Volatility
SkyWest has a beta of 1.72, meaning that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Copa Holdings, has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares SkyWest and Copa Holdings,’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SkyWest | -4.59% | 11.10% | 3.06% |
| Copa Holdings, | 14.32% | 13.23% | 6.23% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares SkyWest and Copa Holdings,’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SkyWest | $3.13 billion | 0.61 | $617.42 million | ($2.83) | -13.02 |
| Copa Holdings, | $2.28 billion | 2.35 | $464.29 million | $7.71 | 16.38 |
SkyWest has higher revenue and earnings than Copa Holdings,. SkyWest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Copa Holdings,, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Copa Holdings, beats SkyWest on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
SkyWest Company Profile
SkyWest, Inc., through its subsidiaries, SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SkyWest Airlines) and ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. (ExpressJet), operates regional airline operations in the United States. The Company’s segments include SkyWest Airlines, ExpressJet and SkyWest Leasing. The SkyWest Airlines segment provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Midwestern and Western United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. The ExpressJet segment provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. The SkyWest Leasing segment includes its E175 aircraft ownership business. As of December 31, 2016, the Company offered scheduled passenger service with approximately 3,160 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The Company’s flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines.
Copa Holdings, Company Profile
Copa Holdings, S.A. is a provider of airline passenger and cargo service through its principal operating subsidiaries, Compania Panamena de Aviacion, S. A. (Copa Airlines) and AeroRepublica, S. A. (Copa Colombia). The Company operates through air transportation segment. Copa Airlines operates from its position located in the Republic of Panama. Copa Airlines provides international air transportation for passengers, cargo and mail, operating from its Panama City hub in the Republic of Panama. Copa Colombia provides service within Colombia and international flights from various cities in Colombia to Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Copa Colombia provides domestic and international air transportation for passengers, cargo and mail with a point-to-point route network. Its subsidiary, Oval Financial Leasing, Ltd., controls the special purpose entities that have a beneficial interest in the majority of its fleet.
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