LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 73.2% in September

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,204,337 shares, a growth of 73.2% from the August 31st total of 1,850,400 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 764,673 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

LATAM Airlines Group Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of LATAM Airlines Group stock traded down $2.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,160,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,100. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 3.64. LATAM Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $41.41 and a 1 year high of $70.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.92.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LTM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,403 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $344,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter worth $446,000. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. increased its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 1,478.6% in the 2nd quarter. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. now owns 326,007 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,996,000 after purchasing an additional 305,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $570,000.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group SA is a Chile-based airline holding company and one of the largest air transportation groups in Latin America. Through its LATAM Airlines affiliates, the group provides scheduled passenger and cargo air services to domestic and international destinations.

The company serves markets across South America, including Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, as well as destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Oceania. Its operations include domestic routes within several Latin American countries, international passenger services, and air freight transportation.

LATAM Airlines Group was created in 2012 through the merger of Chile’s LAN Airlines and Brazil’s TAM Airlines.