Martin Currie Ltd. Boosts Position in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT)

Martin Currie Ltd. raised its stake in Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) by 53.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Planet Fitness were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLNT. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the 4th quarter valued at $130,376,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Planet Fitness in the fourth quarter valued at $100,009,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Planet Fitness by 666.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 795,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,609,000 after acquiring an additional 691,761 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth about $22,289,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth about $18,767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.53% of the company’s stock.

Planet Fitness Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of PLNT opened at $96.18 on Friday. Planet Fitness, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.64 and a 52-week high of $110.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.73. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 51.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.54.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $340.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.57 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.23% and a negative return on equity of 107.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Planet Fitness, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PLNT. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Planet Fitness from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Monday, February 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Planet Fitness in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.17.

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.