LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) Share Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Key Points

• LATAM shares rose above their 50-day moving average of $49.21, reaching $51.00 before last trading at $50.471.
• The airline reported quarterly earnings of $1.44 per share, beating the $1.21 analyst estimate, while revenue of $4.57 billion also topped expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $66.27; recent firms issued both downgrades and an upgrade.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.21 and traded as high as $51.00. LATAM Airlines Group shares last traded at $50.4710, with a volume of 1,489,463 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LTM. Zacks Research downgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LATAM Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, LATAM Airlines Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.27.

LATAM Airlines Group Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.51. The stock has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 3.87.

LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The transportation company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.54 billion. LATAM Airlines Group had a return on equity of 87.90% and a net margin of 9.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LATAM Airlines Group S.A. will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LATAM Airlines Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Navi International Administradora e Gestora de Recursos Financeiros Ltda. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 305,355 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda raised its stake in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 168.5% in the first quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 881,976 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $43,605,000 after acquiring an additional 553,513 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 184.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group during the first quarter worth approximately $746,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of LATAM Airlines Group by 641.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 346,402 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,126,000 after purchasing an additional 299,710 shares in the last quarter.

About LATAM Airlines Group

LATAM Airlines Group is a Chile-based airline group that provides passenger and air cargo transportation in Latin America and other international markets. Its passenger operations connect major cities across the region with destinations in North America, Europe and Oceania.

The group operates airlines in several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Its services include domestic and international passenger flights, along with cargo transportation through its cargo businesses.

LATAM Airlines Group was formed in 2012 through the merger of Chilean airline LAN and Brazilian airline TAM.

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