LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM) Stock Short Interest Report for September

Key Points

• Short interest fell 37% to 2.02 million shares as of September 30, representing about 0.8% of outstanding shares and 3.1 days to cover.
• LATAM Airlines reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue reached $4.12 billion. The stock opened at $48.52, with a market capitalization of approximately $13.93 billion.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $66.27 price target, and several institutional investors increased their positions during recent quarters.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,018,982 shares, a drop of 37.0% from the September 15th total of 3,204,337 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 648,359 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

LATAM Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of LTM stock opened at $48.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 3.64. LATAM Airlines Group has a one year low of $43.00 and a one year high of $70.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.97.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. LATAM Airlines Group had a net margin of 9.69% and a return on equity of 101.21%. The company had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.06 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LATAM Airlines Group will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LTM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on LATAM Airlines Group in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded LATAM Airlines Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in LATAM Airlines Group by 36.1% during the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,457,525 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $122,606,000 after acquiring an additional 651,218 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 184.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,267,200 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $62,650,000 after purchasing an additional 822,400 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its holdings in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 168.5% in the 1st quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 881,976 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,513 shares during the period. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 629,861 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,424,000 after purchasing an additional 9,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. lifted its stake in shares of 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.

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.

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