Is MEDIFAST INC (MED) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?
For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. MEDIFAST INC (MED) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.
MEDIFAST INC is one of 172 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #6 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. MED is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MED's full-year earnings has moved 15.86% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, MED has gained about 43.72% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -9.69% on a year-to-date basis. This means that MEDIFAST INC is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Looking more specifically, MED belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 41 individual stocks and currently sits at #73 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 5.67% this year, meaning that MED is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Investors in the Consumer Staples sector will want to keep a close eye on MED as it attempts to continue its solid performance.
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