Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Medifast, Inc. (NYSE:MED) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Medifast were worth $2,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MED. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Medifast by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,266 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in Medifast by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 3,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Medifast by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 35,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Medifast by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Medifast by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Medifast from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $17.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Medifast Stock Performance

MED stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.42. 95,997 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 481,783. Medifast, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.81 and a 52 week high of $109.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.45 million, a PE ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.15.

Medifast (NYSE:MED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.12). Medifast had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 36.64%. The company had revenue of $174.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 49.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Medifast, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medifast 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.