Comparing Hf Foods Group (NASDAQ:HFFG) & Medifast (NYSE:MED)

Hf Foods Group (NASDAQ:HFFG) and Medifast (NYSE:MED) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hf Foods Group and Medifast, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hf Foods Group	1	0	1	0	2.00
Medifast	1	1	0	0	1.50

Hf Foods Group presently has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 194.12%. Medifast has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 38.08%. Given Hf Foods Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hf Foods Group is more favorable than Medifast.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hf Foods Group and Medifast”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hf Foods Group	$1.20 billion	0.11	-$48.51 million	($0.91)	-2.62
Medifast	$429.70 million	0.31	$2.09 million	$0.01	1,195.00

Medifast has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Hf Foods Group. Hf Foods Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medifast, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Hf Foods Group and Medifast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hf Foods Group	-3.97%	7.01%	3.02%
Medifast	0.76%	2.00%	1.50%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.0% of Hf Foods Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Medifast shares are held by institutional investors. 7.0% of Hf Foods Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Medifast shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Hf Foods Group has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medifast has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Hf Foods Group

HF Foods Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, markets and distributes Asian specialty food, seafood, fresh produce, frozen and dry food, and non-food products to Asian and Chinese restaurants, and other foodservice customers in the United States. The company offers seafood, including lobsters, shrimp, crabs, scallops, and fish; Asian specialty food items, including noodles, rice, dried mushrooms and beans, sauces and seasonings, and spring rolls, as well as canned products, such as preserved vegetables, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts; and meat and poultry products, including beef, pork, chicken, and duck. It also provides fresh produce products, such as vegetables and fruits; commodities comprising oil, flour, sugar, and salt; and packaging and other items including take-out accessories. HF Foods Group Inc. is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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.