JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 156.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,017 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.53% of Medifast worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in Medifast by 592.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Medifast by 70.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,006 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Medifast by 1,161.8% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,766 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 8,992 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Medifast during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Medifast in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Price Performance

MED opened at $15.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.22 million, a P/E ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.53. Medifast, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.94 and a 12-month high of $57.41.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $140.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.45 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Medifast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $16.50 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Medifast Company 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.