Contrasting Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) and Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT)

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) and Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Planet Fitness and Churchill Downs, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Planet Fitness	1	9	11	1	2.55
Churchill Downs	1	0	9	0	2.80

Planet Fitness presently has a consensus price target of $70.24, suggesting a potential upside of 30.53%. Churchill Downs has a consensus price target of $136.88, suggesting a potential upside of 49.78%. Given Churchill Downs’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Churchill Downs is more favorable than Planet Fitness.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Planet Fitness shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.6% of Churchill Downs shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Planet Fitness shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Churchill Downs shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Planet Fitness and Churchill Downs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Planet Fitness	16.88%	-59.46%	8.60%
Churchill Downs	13.82%	42.16%	6.31%

Risk and Volatility

Planet Fitness has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Churchill Downs has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Planet Fitness and Churchill Downs”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Planet Fitness	$1.41 billion	2.88	$219.10 million	$2.95	18.24
Churchill Downs	$2.99 billion	2.13	$383.00 million	$5.83	15.67

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

Summary

Planet Fitness beats Churchill Downs on 8 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 Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs Incorporated operates as a racing, online wagering, and gaming entertainment company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Live and Historical Racing, TwinSpires, and Gaming. The company operates pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues; TwinSpires, an online wagering platform for horse racing, sports, and iGaming; retail sports books; casino gaming; and Terre Haute Casino Resort. It also offers streaming video of live horse races, replays, and an assortment of racing and handicapping information; and provides the Bloodstock Research Information Services platform for horse racing statistical data. In addition, the company manufactures and operates pari-mutuel wagering systems for racetracks, off-track betting facilities, and other pari-mutuel wagering businesses. Churchill Downs Incorporated was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.