Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,099,448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 173,536 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.25% of Planet Fitness worth $80,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 478.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in Planet Fitness by 61.2% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Planet Fitness during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Dnca Finance purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the 1st quarter worth about $148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.53% of the company’s stock.

Planet Fitness Price Performance

PLNT stock opened at $82.25 on Thursday. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.13 and a 1-year high of $85.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.27, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.31.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $300.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Planet Fitness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. BNP Paribas raised Planet Fitness from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $97.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Planet Fitness from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen raised Planet Fitness from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,549.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Planet Fitness 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.