LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $58.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $53.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on LTM. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $64.10 price target on shares of LATAM Airlines Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.03.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

LATAM Airlines Group stock opened at $50.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 3.89. LATAM Airlines Group has a 52-week low of $26.36 and a 52-week high of $70.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.55.

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. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 136.61%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at $83,266,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 248.4% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,484,669 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $67,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,554 shares during the last quarter. Burkehill Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the third quarter worth $42,988,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 3,884.5% during the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 935,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,323,000 after acquiring an additional 911,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the third quarter valued at $37,331,000.

LATAM Airlines Group Company Profile

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.