Planet Fitness, Inc. $PLNT Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Planet Fitness by 87.8%, acquiring an additional 6,636 shares, bringing its total to 14,193 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million.
• Planet Fitness reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.86, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.79, and showed a revenue increase of 13.3% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own 95.53% of Planet Fitness stock, reflecting strong interest from hedge funds in the company.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT - Free Report) by 87.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,193 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,636 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Planet Fitness were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 187.6% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 486 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 291.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the first quarter worth about $65,000. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Trading Down 2.9%

PLNT traded down $3.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,232,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,291. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.77 and a twelve month high of $114.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $108.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.37.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07. Planet Fitness had a negative return on equity of 110.18% and a net margin of 15.11%.The company had revenue of $340.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.59 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Planet Fitness's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PLNT. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $120.00 price objective on Planet Fitness and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Planet Fitness from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $126.00 target price on Planet Fitness and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.38.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

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.