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Is MEDIFAST INC (MED) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?

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The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. MEDIFAST INC (MED - Free Report) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of MED and the rest of the Consumer Staples group's stocks.

MEDIFAST INC is one of 174 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. MED is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MED's full-year earnings has moved 18.88% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, MED has returned 6.85% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -8.50% on a year-to-date basis. This means that MEDIFAST INC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

To break things down more, MED belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 43 individual companies and currently sits at #40 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 3.32% this year, meaning that MED is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

MED will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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