LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

LTM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.60 price objective on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of LATAM Airlines Group from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.40.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

LATAM Airlines Group stock opened at $51.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 3.62. LATAM Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $36.41 and a fifty-two week high of $70.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.86.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 127.75%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LTM. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group in the first quarter valued at about $3,061,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 133.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 40,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 23,044 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group in the second quarter valued at about $402,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 149.1% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 69,108 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 41,363 shares during the period.

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.