Medifast (MED) Competitors

Medifast (NYSE:MED) and Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk and community ranking.

Does the media favor MED or HLF?

In the previous week, Herbalife had 8 more articles in the media than Medifast. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Herbalife and 0 mentions for Medifast. Medifast's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Herbalife's score of 0.35 indicating that Medifast is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Medifast	Very Positive
Herbalife	Neutral

Do analysts rate MED or HLF?

Medifast presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.42%. Herbalife has a consensus price target of $9.90, suggesting a potential upside of 81.82%. Given Herbalife's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Herbalife is more favorable than Medifast.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medifast	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Herbalife	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Do institutionals & insiders believe in MED or HLF?

95.5% of Medifast shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Medifast shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Herbalife shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MED or HLF?

Herbalife received 332 more outperform votes than Medifast when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.26% of users gave Herbalife an outperform vote while only 63.62% of users gave Medifast an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Medifast	Outperform Votes 383 63.62%	Underperform Votes 219 36.38%
Herbalife	Outperform Votes 715 67.26%	Underperform Votes 348 32.74%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, MED or HLF?

Herbalife has higher revenue and earnings than Medifast. Herbalife is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medifast, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medifast	$674.48M	0.25	$99.42M	$0.66	23.76
Herbalife	$5.06B	0.11	$142.20M	$0.85	6.41

Which has more volatility & risk, MED or HLF?

Medifast has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Herbalife has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MED or HLF more profitable?

Herbalife has a net margin of 1.73% compared to Medifast's net margin of 1.09%. Medifast's return on equity of 15.98% beat Herbalife's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medifast	1.09%	15.98%	11.01%
Herbalife	1.73%	-18.66%	7.12%

Summary

Herbalife beats Medifast on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.