DA Davidson Issues Optimistic Forecast for Medifast Earnings

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Medifast in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 6th. DA Davidson analyst L. Weiser now anticipates that the specialty retailer will post earnings of $1.83 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.29. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $17.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Medifast’s current full-year earnings is $1.24 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Medifast’s Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.10) EPS and FY2025 earnings at $0.19 EPS.

Medifast Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE MED opened at $19.16 on Friday. Medifast has a fifty-two week low of $17.07 and a fifty-two week high of $76.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.57 million, a P/E ratio of 29.03 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.81.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.50. Medifast had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $140.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Medifast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Medifast by 160.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 8,389 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Medifast by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,589 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Medifast by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 33,095 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 13,201 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Medifast during the first quarter worth about $616,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Medifast by 21.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the period. 95.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Medifast

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.