Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,180,000 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the February 28th total of 5,720,000 shares. Approximately 7.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Life Time Group Stock Performance

NYSE:LTH traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.34. 1,716,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,789. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. Life Time Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.34 and a fifty-two week high of $33.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Life Time Group from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Life Time Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Life Time Group from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America set a $40.00 target price on shares of Life Time Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $36.00 price target on shares of Life Time Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bahram Akradi sold 5,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total transaction of $150,650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,993,849 shares in the company, valued at $90,204,670.37. This trade represents a 62.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Erik Weaver sold 1,741 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.62, for a total value of $51,568.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 96,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,854,212.82. This represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,082,147 shares of company stock worth $152,891,556 over the last three months. 8.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Life Time Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Life Time Group by 20.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 586,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,331,000 after purchasing an additional 100,022 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Life Time Group by 15.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 43,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 5,928 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Life Time Group by 268.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Life Time Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,129,000. 79.40% of the stock is 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.