Short Interest in Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) Declines By 15.3%

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,720,000 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the February 13th total of 6,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 5.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LTH. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Life Time Group in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Life Time Group from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Northland Securities increased their price objective on Life Time Group from $29.00 to $31.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their target price on Life Time Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.86.

Life Time Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LTH traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,225,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,396,913. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Life Time Group has a 1 year low of $12.34 and a 1 year high of $33.64. The company has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Life Time Group news, CFO Erik Weaver sold 1,741 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.62, for a total value of $51,568.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 96,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,854,212.82. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bahram Akradi sold 5,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total value of $150,650,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,993,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,204,670.37. This represents a 62.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,082,147 shares of company stock worth $152,891,556. 12.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Life Time Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Life Time Group during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Life Time Group by 892.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Life Time Group by 240.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Life Time Group during the third quarter valued at $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Life Time Group Company Profile

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.