Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH - Get Free Report) 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LTH. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Life Time Group from $21.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $32.00 price target (up from $29.00) on shares of Life Time Group in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Life Time Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Life Time Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Finally, Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of Life Time Group from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.75.

Life Time Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.89.

Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 6.42% and a net margin of 5.67%. Life Time Group's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ritadhwaja Jebens Singh sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $625,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 191,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,790,650. The trade was a 11.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Parham Javaheri sold 168,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total transaction of $4,127,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 243,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,993,556.66. The trade was a 40.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Life Time Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Life Time Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $542,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Life Time Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 92,101 shares of the company's stock worth $2,037,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Life Time Group by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,569,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,160,000 after buying an additional 356,255 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Life Time Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,646,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,045,000 after buying an additional 46,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Life Time Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,575,000. 79.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.