Analyzing LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU)

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

LATAM Airlines Group has a beta of 3.87, meaning that its share price is 287% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JetBlue Airways has a beta of 1.9, meaning that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LATAM Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LATAM Airlines Group	$14.49 billion	0.94	$1.46 billion	$5.68	8.38
JetBlue Airways	$9.06 billion	0.16	-$602.00 million	($2.68)	-1.40

LATAM Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than JetBlue Airways. JetBlue Airways 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 LATAM Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LATAM Airlines Group	9.65%	87.90%	8.57%
JetBlue Airways	-10.01%	-56.96%	-5.96%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for LATAM Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LATAM Airlines Group	0	2	6	0	2.75
JetBlue Airways	4	9	1	0	1.79

LATAM Airlines Group currently has a consensus price target of $66.27, suggesting a potential upside of 39.23%. JetBlue Airways has a consensus price target of $4.98, suggesting a potential upside of 32.25%. Given LATAM Airlines Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe LATAM Airlines Group is more favorable than JetBlue Airways.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of JetBlue Airways shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of LATAM Airlines Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of JetBlue Airways shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

LATAM Airlines Group beats JetBlue Airways on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group is a Chile-based airline group that provides passenger and air cargo transportation in Latin America and other international markets. Its passenger operations connect major cities across the region with destinations in North America, Europe and Oceania. The group operates airlines in several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Its services include domestic and international passenger flights, along with cargo transportation through its cargo businesses.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Founded in 1998, the company began flying in 2000 and operates scheduled service across the United States and to destinations in the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and Europe. The airline offers economy and premium travel options, including its Mint business-class service on select routes and additional-legroom seating. JetBlue also provides loyalty rewards through its TrueBlue program and sells vacation packages combining flights with other travel services.