Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) & Target Hospitality (NASDAQ:TH) Critical Contrast

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) and Target Hospitality (NASDAQ:TH) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Planet Fitness shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of Target Hospitality shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Planet Fitness shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 68.0% of Target Hospitality shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Planet Fitness has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Target Hospitality has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Planet Fitness and Target Hospitality’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Planet Fitness	16.55%	-97.97%	8.36%
Target Hospitality	-3.08%	-1.78%	-1.24%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Planet Fitness and Target Hospitality”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Planet Fitness	$1.32 billion	4.94	$219.10 million	$2.62	30.00
Target Hospitality	$314.55 million	2.48	$71.26 million	($0.11)	-71.18

Planet Fitness has higher revenue and earnings than Target Hospitality. Target Hospitality is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Planet Fitness, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Planet Fitness and Target Hospitality, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Planet Fitness	1	4	10	2	2.76
Target Hospitality	1	0	1	0	2.00

Planet Fitness presently has a consensus price target of $120.58, suggesting a potential upside of 53.41%. Target Hospitality has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 40.49%. Given Planet Fitness’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Planet Fitness is more favorable than Target Hospitality.

Summary

Planet Fitness beats Target Hospitality on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It engages in the sale of fitness equipment to franchisee-owned stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition, the company operates corporate-owned stores in the United States and Canada. Planet Fitness, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire.

About Target Hospitality

Target Hospitality Corp. operates as a specialty rental and hospitality services company in North America. The company operates through two segments, Hospitality & Facilities Services – South and Government. It owns a network of specialty rental accommodation units. In addition, the company provides catering and food, maintenance, housekeeping, grounds-keeping, security, health and recreation facilities, workforce community management, concierge, and laundry services. It serves the U.S. government contractors and investment grade natural resource development companies. Target Hospitality Corp. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.