Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $25.07, but opened at $26.40. Life Time Group shares last traded at $25.49, with a volume of 388,789 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LTH has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Life Time Group from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Life Time Group from $28.50 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Life Time Group from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Life Time Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Life Time Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.89.

Life Time Group Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.51 and its 200-day moving average is $23.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $693.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $684.13 million. Life Time Group had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 6.42%. Life Time Group’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Parham Javaheri sold 168,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $4,127,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 243,938 shares in the company, valued at $5,993,556.66. This trade represents a 40.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Life Time Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Life Time Group by 32.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 92,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 22,836 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Life Time Group by 402.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 104,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,966,000 after buying an additional 83,654 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Life Time Group by 19.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,658,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,728,000 after buying an additional 770,766 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Life Time Group by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in Life Time Group during the second quarter worth about $905,000. 79.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Life Time Group

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc provides health, fitness, and wellness experiences to a community of individual members in the United States and Canada. It primarily engages in designing, building, and operating of sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation, and spa centers in a resort-like environment, principally in suburban and urban locations of metropolitan areas.