Head to Head Comparison: Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH) & H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT)

Life Time Group (NYSE:LTH) and H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Life Time Group and H World Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Life Time Group	0	0	13	2	3.13
H World Group	0	1	4	0	2.80

Life Time Group presently has a consensus price target of $55.31, indicating a potential upside of 39.14%. H World Group has a consensus price target of $61.20, indicating a potential upside of 38.56%. Given Life Time Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Life Time Group is more favorable than H World Group.

Profitability

This table compares Life Time Group and H World Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Life Time Group	13.07%	10.56%	4.13%
H World Group	18.90%	41.05%	8.07%

Volatility & Risk

Life Time Group has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H World Group has a beta of 0.14, indicating that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Life Time Group and H World Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Life Time Group	$3.00 billion	2.97	$373.67 million	$1.84	21.60
H World Group	$3.62 billion	3.75	$726.00 million	$2.27	19.46

H World Group has higher revenue and earnings than Life Time Group. H World Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Life Time Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.4% of Life Time Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.4% of H World Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.3% of Life Time Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 49.4% of H World Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

H World Group beats Life Time Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also offers fitness floors with equipment, locker rooms, group fitness studios, indoor and outdoor pools, bistros, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, pickleball courts, basketball courts, LifeSpa, LifeCafe, and childcare and Kids Academy learning spaces. In addition, its Life Time Digital provides live streaming fitness classes, remote goal-based personal training, nutrition and weight loss support, curated award-winning health, and fitness and wellness content. The company is also involved in media activities, conducting athletic events, and provision of related services. It operates various centers, including ground leases. The company was formerly known as LTF Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. in June 21, 2021. Life Time Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

About H World Group

H World Group Limited develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels in the People's Republic of China. The company operates hotels under its own brands, such as HanTing Hotel, Ni Hao Hotel, Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Ibis Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Starway Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Manxin Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Madison Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, Grand Mercure, Steigenberger Icon, and Song Hotels. The company was formerly known as Huazhu Group Limited and changed its name to H World Group Limited in June 2022. H World Group Limited was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.