LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.17, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 110.50%.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of LTM stock opened at $57.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 3.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.91. LATAM Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.41 and a fifty-two week high of $70.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LTM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.27.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,091,845 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $112,981,000 after acquiring an additional 211,261 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,266,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 248.4% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,484,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,181,000 after buying an additional 1,058,554 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 266.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,039,414 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,033,000 after acquiring an additional 755,997 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 954,224 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $43,179,000 after purchasing an additional 451,107 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.