Inspire Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 73.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,099 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,828 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC owned 0.15% of Medifast worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Medifast by 2,000.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 338,228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,376,000 after buying an additional 322,123 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Medifast by 415.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 215,090 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,693,000 after purchasing an additional 173,337 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Medifast by 20.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 958,610 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 161,487 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Medifast by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 397,443 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,716,000 after purchasing an additional 159,817 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Medifast by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,686,957 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $113,397,000 after buying an additional 113,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Price Performance

Shares of MED stock opened at $18.80 on Tuesday. Medifast, Inc. has a one year low of $17.73 and a one year high of $79.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.53. The company has a market capitalization of $205.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $168.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.44 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 25.77% and a net margin of 3.81%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $17.50 price objective on shares of Medifast in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

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.