Head-To-Head Comparison: LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM) vs. Saker Aviation Services (OTCMKTS:SKAS)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LATAM Airlines Group and Saker Aviation Services”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	1.25	$976.97 million	$4.19	12.63
Saker Aviation Services	$9.17 million	0.75	$1.25 million	($0.42)	-16.19

LATAM Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Saker Aviation Services. Saker Aviation Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LATAM Airlines Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for LATAM Airlines Group and Saker Aviation Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LATAM Airlines Group	0	2	2	0	2.50
Saker Aviation Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

LATAM Airlines Group presently has a consensus price target of $59.25, indicating a potential upside of 11.92%. Given LATAM Airlines Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe LATAM Airlines Group is more favorable than Saker Aviation Services.

Risk and Volatility

LATAM Airlines Group has a beta of 3.91, suggesting that its share price is 291% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Saker Aviation Services has a beta of -0.15, suggesting that its share price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LATAM Airlines Group and Saker Aviation Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LATAM Airlines Group	8.99%	136.76%	7.71%
Saker Aviation Services	6.08%	-4.66%	-4.33%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

37.3% of Saker Aviation Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of LATAM Airlines Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.6% of Saker Aviation Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

LATAM Airlines Group beats Saker Aviation Services on 12 of the 14 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 Saker Aviation Services

Saker Aviation Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the aviation services segment of the general aviation industry in the United States. It serves as the operator of a Downtown Manhattan (New York) Heliport. The company was formerly known as FirstFlight, Inc. and changed its name to Saker Aviation Services, Inc. in September 2009. Saker Aviation Services, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.