Planet Fitness, Inc. $PLNT Position Lessened by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Planet Fitness by 50.9%, selling 1,168,783 shares, and now owns approximately 1.33% of the company, valued at $108.93 million.
• Other institutional investors are increasing their holdings, with Invesco Ltd. boosting its stake by 358.0% and Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increasing its ownership by 62.7%.
• Planet Fitness reported $0.86 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and its stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $107.38.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Free Report) by 50.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,127,526 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,168,783 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned 1.33% of Planet Fitness worth $108,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 322 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 187.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 291.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 95.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of Planet Fitness stock traded down $2.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $104.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,029. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.88. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.77 and a 1-year high of $114.47.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $340.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.59 million. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 110.18% and a net margin of 15.11%.Planet Fitness's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $126.00 price objective on Planet Fitness and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Planet Fitness from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.38.

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.