Medifast (NYSE:MED – Get Free Report) and Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
95.5% of Medifast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Medifast shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Medifast has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nature’s Sunshine Products has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Medifast | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 |
| Nature’s Sunshine Products | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
Medifast presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.71%. Nature’s Sunshine Products has a consensus target price of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 109.48%. Given Nature’s Sunshine Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Nature’s Sunshine Products is more favorable than Medifast.
Profitability
This table compares Medifast and Nature’s Sunshine Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Medifast | -8.08% | -6.69% | -5.25% |
| Nature’s Sunshine Products | 3.68% | 12.88% | 8.17% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Medifast and Nature’s Sunshine Products”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Medifast | $385.79 million | 0.34 | -$18.67 million | ($2.33) | -4.97 |
| Nature’s Sunshine Products | $480.14 million | 0.53 | $19.52 million | $1.01 | 14.42 |
Nature’s Sunshine Products has higher revenue and earnings than Medifast. Medifast is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nature’s Sunshine Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Nature’s Sunshine Products beats Medifast on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. The company markets its products through point-of-sale transactions, as well as through ecommerce platform. Medifast, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
About Nature’s Sunshine Products
Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a natural health and wellness company, manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and internationally. It offers general health products related to blood sugar support, bone health, cellular health, cognitive function, joint health, mood, sexual health, sleep, sports and energy, and vision. The company also provides immunity, cardiovascular, and digestive products; and personal care products, such as oils and lotions, aloe vera gels, herbal shampoos, herbal skin treatment, toothpaste, and skin cleansers, as well as weight management products. It offers its products under the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands through a sales force of independent consultants. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.
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