Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $94.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PLNT. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Planet Fitness from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Planet Fitness from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Planet Fitness Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE PLNT opened at $99.18 on Friday. Planet Fitness has a 52 week low of $54.35 and a 52 week high of $102.90. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $91.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.14.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The firm had revenue of $292.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $283.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Planet Fitness’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Planet Fitness will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In related news, insider Jennifer Simmons sold 11,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $1,101,778.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,110 shares in the company, valued at $1,838,382. This represents a 37.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Planet Fitness

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the second quarter valued at approximately $166,978,000. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the second quarter valued at approximately $106,795,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Planet Fitness by 169.8% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,317,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,985,000 after buying an additional 829,509 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 666.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 795,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,609,000 after buying an additional 691,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsal Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Planet Fitness by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LP now owns 2,907,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,940,000 after purchasing an additional 207,193 shares during the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.