Prudential Financial Inc. Has $819,000 Stake in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,485 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 27,300 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.42% of Medifast worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Medifast by 1,161.8% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,766 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 8,992 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medifast by 2,308.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 10,967 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medifast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Medifast by 6.3% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 15,238 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medifast by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.51% of the company's stock.

Medifast Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MED traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.66. 235,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,119. The company has a market capitalization of $138.52 million, a PE ratio of 70.36 and a beta of 1.05. Medifast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.30 and a 52-week high of $36.30. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $14.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.60.

Medifast (NYSE:MED - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The specialty retailer reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.26. The company had revenue of $119.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $114.25 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 0.35%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Medifast from $17.00 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.