Utz Brands (UTZ) Competitors

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) and Medifast (NYSE:MED) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and community ranking.

Is UTZ or MED more profitable?

Medifast has a net margin of 7.55% compared to Utz Brands' net margin of -1.38%. Medifast's return on equity of 36.64% beat Utz Brands' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Utz Brands	-1.38%	6.16%	3.15%
Medifast	7.55%	36.64%	23.16%

Does the media refer more to UTZ or MED?

In the previous week, Utz Brands had 4 more articles in the media than Medifast. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Utz Brands and 5 mentions for Medifast. Medifast's average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Utz Brands' score of 0.61 indicating that Medifast is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Utz Brands	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Medifast	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend UTZ or MED?

Utz Brands presently has a consensus target price of $20.42, indicating a potential upside of 13.17%. Medifast has a consensus target price of $53.50, indicating a potential upside of 128.73%. Given Medifast's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Medifast is more favorable than Utz Brands.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Utz Brands	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Medifast	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer UTZ or MED?

Medifast received 332 more outperform votes than Utz Brands when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.94% of users gave Medifast an outperform vote while only 60.00% of users gave Utz Brands an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Utz Brands	Outperform Votes 51 60.00%	Underperform Votes 34 40.00%
Medifast	Outperform Votes 383 63.94%	Underperform Votes 216 36.06%

Which has more volatility and risk, UTZ or MED?

Utz Brands has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medifast has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in UTZ or MED?

96.0% of Utz Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Medifast shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.0% of Utz Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Medifast shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, UTZ or MED?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Utz Brands	$1.44B	1.76	-$24.94M	-$0.25	-71.84
Medifast	$1.07B	0.24	$99.42M	$6.20	3.85

Summary

Medifast beats Utz Brands on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.