JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 59,702 Shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) by 103.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,157 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 59,702 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.07% of Medifast worth $2,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Medifast by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 244,185 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,303,000 after buying an additional 8,058 shares in the last quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Medifast during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,938,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medifast by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 54,270 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. Commons Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Commons Capital LLC now owns 38,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 10,563 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of Medifast during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Medifast Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MED stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $12.56. 188,406 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,993. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.78 and a beta of 1.05. Medifast, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.57 and a 12-month high of $36.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $13.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.14.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.09. Medifast had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 0.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

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.