LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Morgan Stanley

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $60.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $61.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.80% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on LTM. Citigroup upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $64.10 price target on LATAM Airlines Group and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on LATAM Airlines Group from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LATAM Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.28.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Down 1.3%

LATAM Airlines Group stock opened at $48.08 on Thursday. LATAM Airlines Group has a twelve month low of $26.36 and a twelve month high of $70.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.44. The firm has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 3.89.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 136.61%. Equities analysts expect that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 79.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 535,389 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,226,000 after buying an additional 237,363 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,288,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the third quarter valued at $2,262,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its holdings in LATAM Airlines Group by 3,884.5% in the 3rd quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 935,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,323,000 after buying an additional 911,847 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the second quarter worth approximately $951,000.

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.