LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Stock Short Interest Jumps 76.3%

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,559,597 shares, an increase of 76.3% from the September 30th total of 2,018,982 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 798,579 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LTM. Zacks Research cut LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Trading Down 0.1%

LATAM Airlines Group stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $44.65. 133,533 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,260. LATAM Airlines Group has a one year low of $41.44 and a one year high of $70.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.80. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 3.64.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 101.21% and a net margin of 9.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 684.3% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the third quarter worth about $129,000.

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. The group provides scheduled passenger and cargo services through affiliated airlines operating under the LATAM brand, connecting major cities within Latin America and serving destinations in North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Oceania.

Its passenger business includes domestic and international flights, while its cargo operations transport freight using dedicated aircraft and cargo capacity on passenger flights.