LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Stock Price Up 11% – Time to Buy?

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM)’s stock price traded up 11% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $53.85 and last traded at $52.9740. 1,123,530 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 1,434,274 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LTM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $64.10 price target on shares of LATAM Airlines Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.28.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 3.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.90 and its 200-day moving average is $51.52.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.34. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 136.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group S.A. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LTM. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in LATAM Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 340.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter.

About LATAM Airlines Group

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.