DA Davidson Lowers Medifast (NYSE:MED) Price Target to $16.50

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by DA Davidson from $17.00 to $16.50 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. DA Davidson's price objective points to a potential upside of 12.15% from the stock's previous close.

Medifast Stock Up 2.7 %

Medifast stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.71. 329,782 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,291. Medifast has a twelve month low of $13.57 and a twelve month high of $42.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.25 and a 200-day moving average of $17.97. The company has a market cap of $160.96 million, a P/E ratio of 81.74 and a beta of 1.14.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.26. Medifast had a net margin of 0.35% and a return on equity of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.25 million. Equities research analysts expect that Medifast will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medifast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medifast by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Medifast by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 101,775 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Medifast by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,238 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Medifast by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medifast by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 245,929 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,335,000 after buying an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. 95.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.