Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 989,100 shares, an increase of 71.8% from the May 31st total of 575,700 shares. Approximately 8.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 117,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.4 days.
MED has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Medifast from $341.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medifast from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 9th.
MED traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $180.78. 2,673 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 123,205. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.31. Medifast has a twelve month low of $154.67 and a twelve month high of $295.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.15.
Medifast (NYSE:MED – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.03. Medifast had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 81.42%. The firm had revenue of $417.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $415.20 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Medifast will post 15.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
What’s the highest-yielding stock you’ve ever owned? The dividends for these stocks have risen so fast over the years that they’re now yielding us an average of 26%!
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The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 28th will be paid a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 27th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Medifast’s payout ratio is currently 46.79%.
In other news, Director Jeffrey J. Brown acquired 315 shares of Medifast stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $183.25 per share, for a total transaction of $57,723.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,512,521.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Daniel R. Chard acquired 431 shares of Medifast stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $183.25 per share, with a total value of $78,980.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 108,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,900,583.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MED. Gladius Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 18.4% in the first quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 541 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 114.6% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medifast in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 111.9% in the fourth quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 9,015 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 58.3% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.78% of the company’s stock.
Medifast Company Profile (Get Rating)
Medifast, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes weight loss, weight management, healthy living products, and other consumable health and nutritional products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers bars, bites, pretzels, puffs, cereal crunch, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serves, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, Optimal Health by Take Shape for Life, and Flavors of Home brands.
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