LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Short Interest Down 20.6% in April

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,807,104 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the March 31st total of 3,535,168 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,083,249 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LTM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $63.40 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.10.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LTM traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.24. 494,509 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 930,423. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.32. The firm has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 3.93. LATAM Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $31.77 and a 52 week high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 136.61% and a net margin of 10.07%. On average, research analysts predict that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in LATAM Airlines Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,386 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period.

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.