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Copa Holdings CPA is benefiting from the strong air travel demand scenario. CPA’s fleet-upgrade efforts are praiseworthy, too. Owing to the tailwinds, CPA shares have performed impressively on the bourse. If you have not taken advantage of its share price appreciation yet, it’s time to do so.

Let’s take a look at the factors that make CPA stock a strong investment pick at the moment.

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.

Robust Price Performance: A look at the company’s price trend reveals that its shares have risen 4% in the past six months, surpassing the industry’s 1.4% growth.

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Northward Estimate Revisions: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings growth has been revised upward by 0.3% over the past seven days for the current quarter. For the current year, the consensus mark for earnings growth has moved 1% north in the same time frame. The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ confidence in the stock.

Impressive Earnings Surprise History: CPA has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 20.2%.

Driving Factors: Upbeat air travel demand is boosting CPA’s top line. Management expects the current-year load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) to be approximately 87%, assuming the rosy traffic scenario continues. We expect the metric to be 86.8% in 2024.

CPA’s efforts to modernize its fleet and replace obsolete aircraft are commendable. The company ended the first quarter of 2024 with a consolidated fleet of 106 aircraft, which comprises 67 Boeing 737-800s, 29 Boeing 737 MAX 9s, nine Boeing 737-700s and one Boeing 737-800 freighter. Copa Holdings expects to end 2024 with 115 aircraft.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the Zacks Transportation sector are SkyWest SKYW and GATX GATX.

SkyWest currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has an expected earnings growth rate of 784.4% for the current year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

SKYW delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 128.1%, on average. Shares of SkyWest have surged 124.7% in the past year.

GATX currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an expected earnings growth rate of 7.6% for the current year.

The company has an encouraging track record with respect to earnings surprise, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and missed once. The average beat is 7.5%. Shares of GATX have risen 14% in the past year.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.