Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT – Get Free Report) and Medifast (NYSE:MED – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
95.5% of Medifast shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of Freshpet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Medifast shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Freshpet and Medifast, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Freshpet | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2.47 |
| Medifast | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Risk and Volatility
Freshpet has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medifast has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Freshpet and Medifast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Freshpet | 3.23% | 4.82% | 3.21% |
| Medifast | 0.76% | 2.00% | 1.50% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Freshpet and Medifast”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Freshpet | $975.18 million | 2.67 | $46.92 million | $0.67 | 79.73 |
| Medifast | $480.45 million | 0.32 | $2.09 million | $0.32 | 44.14 |
Freshpet has higher revenue and earnings than Medifast. Medifast is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Freshpet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Freshpet beats Medifast on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Freshpet
Freshpet, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.
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.
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