Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) Stock Position Raised by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Medifast worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medifast by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,686,957 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $113,397,000 after acquiring an additional 113,734 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Medifast by 62.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 522,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,138,000 after buying an additional 201,752 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Medifast by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 397,443 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,716,000 after buying an additional 159,817 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Medifast by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 186,244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $12,519,000 after buying an additional 20,034 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Medifast by 110.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 129,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,704,000 after buying an additional 67,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson lowered shares of Medifast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $17.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th.

Medifast Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MED traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $21.77. 29,320 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,559. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.16. Medifast, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.81 and a twelve month high of $109.52. The stock has a market cap of $238.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.15.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.12). Medifast had a return on equity of 36.64% and a net margin of 7.55%. The business had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 49.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Medifast Profile

Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names.