Head-To-Head Review: Saker Aviation Services (OTCMKTS:SKAS) & LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM)

Saker Aviation Services (OTCMKTS:SKAS) and LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Saker Aviation Services and LATAM Airlines Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saker Aviation Services	$9.17 million	0.75	$1.25 million	($0.42)	-16.19
LATAM Airlines Group	$12.83 billion	1.27	$976.97 million	$4.19	12.86

LATAM Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Saker Aviation Services. Saker Aviation Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LATAM Airlines Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Saker Aviation Services and LATAM Airlines Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saker Aviation Services	6.08%	-4.66%	-4.33%
LATAM Airlines Group	8.99%	136.76%	7.71%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Saker Aviation Services and LATAM Airlines Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saker Aviation Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
LATAM Airlines Group	0	2	2	0	2.50

LATAM Airlines Group has a consensus target price of $59.25, suggesting a potential upside of 9.98%. Given LATAM Airlines Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LATAM Airlines Group is more favorable than Saker Aviation Services.

Risk & Volatility

Saker Aviation Services has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its share price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LATAM Airlines Group has a beta of 3.91, suggesting that its share price is 291% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.3% of Saker Aviation Services shares are held by institutional investors. 34.6% of Saker Aviation Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of LATAM Airlines Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

LATAM Airlines Group beats Saker Aviation Services on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saker Aviation Services

Saker Aviation Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the aviation services segment of the general aviation industry in the United States. It serves as the operator of a Downtown Manhattan (New York) Heliport. The company was formerly known as FirstFlight, Inc. and changed its name to Saker Aviation Services, Inc. in September 2009. Saker Aviation Services, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo air transportation services in Peru, Argentina, the United States, Europe, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, the Asia Pacific, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in two segments, Air Transportation; and Multiplus Coalition and Loyalty Program. It provides passenger transport services to approximately 140 destinations in 25 countries with a fleet of 322 aircrafts, well as operates loyalty programs. The company was formerly known as LAN Airlines S.A. and changed its name to LATAM Airlines Group S.A. in June 2012. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. was founded in 1929 and is based in Santiago, Chile.