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

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 8.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 294,880 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 28,000 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Medifast were worth $5,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Medifast by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in Medifast by 592.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Medifast by 370.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,684 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Medifast during the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Medifast during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Medifast Stock Performance

MED opened at $19.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.58 million, a P/E ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 1.17. Medifast, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.07 and a 52-week high of $76.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 3.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.59 and its 200-day moving average is $19.62.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The specialty retailer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $140.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.45 million. Medifast had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 1.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Medifast, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded Medifast from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $16.50 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

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.