BMO Capital Markets Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT)

BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $87.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upgraded Planet Fitness from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Planet Fitness from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Planet Fitness from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $79.87.

Planet Fitness Stock Performance

NYSE PLNT traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.04. 2,469,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,193. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.22 and its 200-day moving average is $66.95. Planet Fitness has a twelve month low of $44.13 and a twelve month high of $79.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.49.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.05. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 121.99% and a net margin of 14.16%. The firm had revenue of $300.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Planet Fitness will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Planet Fitness

In other news, CAO Brian O’donnell sold 6,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.39, for a total transaction of $497,153.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,778 shares in the company, valued at $524,549.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Fitness

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 897,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,549,000 after acquiring an additional 133,541 shares during the period. Broad Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,223,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,279,000 after acquiring an additional 163,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,174,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,976,000 after acquiring an additional 97,823 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 228,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,335,000 after acquiring an additional 45,623 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Planet Fitness during the 1st quarter worth $1,786,000. Institutional investors own 95.53% of the company’s stock.

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.