Zacks Research Downgrades LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) to Strong Sell

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

LTM has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $63.40 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley raised LATAM Airlines Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $61.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on LATAM Airlines Group from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.10.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

LATAM Airlines Group stock opened at $51.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 3.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.13. LATAM Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $29.93 and a fifty-two week high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 136.61%. As a group, analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 49.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter.

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.