LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Rating Increased to Buy at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $63.40 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on LTM. Citigroup upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research cut LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of LATAM Airlines Group from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.10.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LTM opened at $52.76 on Monday. LATAM Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $28.56 and a 1 year high of $70.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 3.93. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.71.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.34. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 136.61% and a net margin of 10.07%.The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 12,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,391 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,009,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $844,000.

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.