The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) to Hold

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) was downgraded by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LTM has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.55.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

NYSE LTM opened at $59.63 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.18. The stock has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 3.89. LATAM Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.36 and a fifty-two week high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 136.61% and a net margin of 10.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 761.1% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,170 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 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.