Analyzing United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) and Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT)

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) and United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Planet Fitness and United Parks & Resorts, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Planet Fitness	0	3	11	2	2.94
United Parks & Resorts	2	7	4	0	2.15

Planet Fitness currently has a consensus target price of $119.67, indicating a potential upside of 19.31%. United Parks & Resorts has a consensus target price of $50.82, indicating a potential upside of 30.57%. Given United Parks & Resorts’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Parks & Resorts is more favorable than Planet Fitness.

Volatility and Risk

Planet Fitness has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Parks & Resorts has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Planet Fitness and United Parks & Resorts”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Planet Fitness	$1.29 billion	6.48	$172.04 million	$2.45	40.94
United Parks & Resorts	$1.73 billion	1.23	$227.50 million	$3.27	11.90

United Parks & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Planet Fitness. United Parks & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Planet Fitness, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Planet Fitness and United Parks & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Planet Fitness	15.97%	-126.58%	8.08%
United Parks & Resorts	10.83%	-44.47%	6.88%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Planet Fitness shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Planet Fitness shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of United Parks & Resorts shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Planet Fitness beats United Parks & Resorts on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. It engages in the sale of fitness equipment to franchisee-owned stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition, the company operates corporate-owned stores in the United States and Canada. Planet Fitness, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of theme parks. Its portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and Sea Rescue. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.