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

Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LTH) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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 company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Life Time Group

In other news, CEO Bahram Akradi sold 5,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $90,204,670.37. This represents a 62.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ritadhwaja Jebens Singh sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $625,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 191,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,790,650. The trade was a 11.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,082,147 shares of company stock worth $152,891,556 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Life Time Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Life Time Group by 7,344.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,361,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,342,749 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Life Time Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,575,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Life Time Group in the 4th quarter worth about $19,198,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Life Time Group by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,924,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 735,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Life Time Group by 79.9% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,602,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,438,000 after purchasing an additional 711,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $28.00 price target on shares of Life Time Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Life Time Group from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $36.00 price target on Life Time Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Life Time Group from $22.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $28.00 target price on Life Time Group and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.62.

Life Time Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LTH traded down $0.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.20. 2,197,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,490,386. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.34. Life Time Group has a twelve month low of $12.34 and a twelve month high of $33.64.

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.