LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 27.3% in March to 3,185,491 shares, representing about 1.1% of the stock with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.8 based on average volume.
• Shares traded down 2.5% to $46.80 (market cap $14.14B, PE 9.44) and have a 12-month range of $26.36–$70.42.
• LATAM beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.69 vs. $1.35 est., revenue $3.95B vs. $3.81B) and analysts are split (3 Buy, 3 Hold) with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $62.28 price target.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,185,491 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the February 26th total of 2,502,873 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,772,126 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Down 2.5%

LTM traded down $1.20 on Monday, hitting $46.80. 185,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,446,593. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 3.89. LATAM Airlines Group has a 12-month low of $26.36 and a 12-month high of $70.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.83 and a 200-day moving average of $51.50.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The transportation company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.07% and a return on equity of 136.61%. On average, research analysts anticipate that LATAM Airlines Group will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LATAM Airlines Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 747 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC acquired a new position in LATAM Airlines Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 113.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 3,194 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,386 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LATAM Airlines Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised LATAM Airlines Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $61.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $64.10 price objective on shares of LATAM Airlines Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.28.

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.

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