LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,018,982 shares, a decline of 37.0% from the September 15th total of 3,204,337 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 648,359 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LTM shares. Zacks Research cut shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of LTM stock opened at $47.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $51.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 3.64. LATAM Airlines Group has a 1-year low of $43.00 and a 1-year high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 101.21% and a net margin of 9.69%. Equities research analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 36.1% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,457,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $122,606,000 after buying an additional 651,218 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 184.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,267,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $62,650,000 after buying an additional 822,400 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 168.5% in the first quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 881,976 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,605,000 after buying an additional 553,513 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 629,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,424,000 after acquiring an additional 9,750 shares during the period. Finally, Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. lifted its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 1,478.6% during the 2nd quarter. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. now owns 326,007 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after acquiring an additional 305,355 shares during the period.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chile-based airline holding company and one of the largest air transportation groups in Latin America. Through its LATAM Airlines affiliates, the group provides scheduled passenger and cargo air services to domestic and international destinations.

The company serves markets across South America, including Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Oceania. Its operations include domestic routes within several Latin American countries, international passenger services, and air freight transportation.

LATAM Airlines Group was created in 2012 through the merger of Chile’s LAN Airlines and Brazil’s TAM Airlines.