LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.70.

LTM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (up from $60.00) on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised LATAM Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,009,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $844,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 417,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,555,000 after buying an additional 173,761 shares during the period.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of LTM opened at $58.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.15. LATAM Airlines Group has a 52-week low of $26.36 and a 52-week high of $70.42. The company has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 3.89.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.34. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 136.61% and a net margin of 10.07%.The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LATAM Airlines Group Company Profile

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chilean-based airline holding company formed in 2012 through the merger of LAN Airlines of Chile and TAM Linhas Aéreas of Brazil. The Group offers passenger and cargo air transportation services across South America and beyond, operating under a multi‐brand strategy that encompasses several nationally recognized carriers. Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, LATAM is structured to serve diverse market segments with full-service, premium and low‐cost offerings.

The core business activities of LATAM Airlines Group include scheduled domestic and international passenger flights, air cargo services and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities through its technical divisions.