Critical Comparison: LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) versus KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (OTCMKTS:KLMR)

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (OTCMKTS:KLMR) are both transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares LATAM Airlines Group and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LATAM Airlines Group	8.25%	148.44%	7.01%
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for LATAM Airlines Group and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LATAM Airlines Group	0	0	3	1	3.25
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	0	0	0	0	0.00

LATAM Airlines Group currently has a consensus price target of $38.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.97%. Given LATAM Airlines Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe LATAM Airlines Group is more favorable than KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares LATAM Airlines Group and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LATAM Airlines Group	$12.83 billion	0.97	$976.97 million	$3.56	11.60
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	$13.72 billion	N/A	$74.67 million	N/A	N/A

LATAM Airlines Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Risk and Volatility

LATAM Airlines Group has a beta of 3.58, suggesting that its share price is 258% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has a beta of 285.95, suggesting that its share price is 28,495% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

LATAM Airlines Group pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 100,000.0%. LATAM Airlines Group pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

LATAM Airlines Group beats KLM Royal Dutch Airlines on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo air transportation services in Peru, Argentina, the United States, Europe, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, the Asia Pacific, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in two segments, Air Transportation; and Multiplus Coalition and Loyalty Program. It provides passenger transport services to approximately 140 destinations in 25 countries with a fleet of 322 aircrafts, well as operates loyalty programs. The company was formerly known as LAN Airlines S.A. and changed its name to LATAM Airlines Group S.A. in June 2012. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. was founded in 1929 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

About KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, together with its subsidiaries, provides passengers and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance, leisure, and other services in the Netherlands and internationally. The company operates through Network, Maintenance, Leisure, and Other segments. It also provides engine, component, and airframe maintenance services to other airlines and clients; and catering and handling services to third-party airlines and clients. In addition, the company sells cargo capacity to third parties. Further, it operates charter and scheduled flights through transavia.com. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is a subsidiary of Air France KLM S.A.