Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) Short Interest Up 25.5% in March

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

Life Time Group Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of LTH stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.34. 1,716,620 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,497,789. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.42. Life Time Group has a 52-week low of $12.34 and a 52-week high of $33.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LTH. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Life Time Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Northland Securities set a $39.00 target price on shares of Life Time Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $35.00 target price on Life Time Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $38.00 target price on shares of Life Time Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Life Time Group

In other news, EVP Ritadhwaja Jebens Singh sold 48,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $1,360,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,004,840. This represents a 25.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bahram Akradi sold 5,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.13, for a total transaction of $150,650,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,993,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,204,670.37. This trade represents a 62.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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 insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Life Time Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LTH. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Life Time Group by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 66,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 9,964 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Life Time Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,619,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Life Time Group during the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Life Time Group by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 134,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 34,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Life Time Group by 413.3% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 210,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 169,402 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

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.