Short Interest in LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Decreases By 38.2%

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) saw a significant drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,850,400 shares, a drop of 38.2% from the August 15th total of 2,995,971 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 914,153 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 684.3% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 26.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of LATAM Airlines Group stock traded up $1.33 on Thursday, reaching $51.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 593,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,058,136. The company has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 3.64. LATAM Airlines Group has a 52-week low of $41.41 and a 52-week high of $70.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.78.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.06 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 101.21% and a net margin of 9.69%. Sell-side analysts forecast that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LTM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Company Profile

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chile-based airline holding company and one of the largest airline groups in Latin America. Through its operating affiliates and commercial brands, the company provides scheduled passenger and air cargo transportation on domestic and international routes.

LATAM serves markets across South America, including Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and connects the region with destinations in North America, Europe, Oceania and other international markets. Its passenger services include multiple travel classes and related offerings, while its cargo operations transport freight using both dedicated aircraft and passenger aircraft capacity.

The group was formed in 2012 through the merger of Chile’s LAN Airlines and Brazil’s TAM Airlines.