Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) to Strong-Buy

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LTM. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.60 price target on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded LATAM Airlines Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on LATAM Airlines Group from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

LTM opened at $55.81 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.71. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 3.62. LATAM Airlines Group has a twelve month low of $36.64 and a twelve month high of $70.42.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The transportation company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 127.75%. Equities analysts forecast that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 49.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in LATAM Airlines Group by 684.3% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in LATAM Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in LATAM Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter.

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.