Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 28,000 Shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,880 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 28,000 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.70% of Medifast worth $5,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MED. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 161,487 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Medifast by 37.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 469,216 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,238,000 after buying an additional 128,719 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medifast by 117.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 389,951 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,509,000 after purchasing an additional 210,669 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Medifast by 2,000.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 338,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 322,123 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 173,337 shares in the last quarter. 95.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medifast Stock Up 0.7 %

Medifast stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.09. The company had a trading volume of 398,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,242. Medifast, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $76.42. The company has a market capitalization of $219.78 million, a PE ratio of 32.27 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $18.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.62. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $140.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.51 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $16.50 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

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.