Utz Brands (UTZ) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to MED or UTZ?

In the previous week, Medifast had 2 more articles in the media than Utz Brands. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Medifast and 4 mentions for Utz Brands. Medifast's average media sentiment score of 1.26 beat Utz Brands' score of -0.25 indicating that Utz Brands is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Medifast	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Utz Brands	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings and valuation, MED or UTZ?

Medifast has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Medifast	$1.07B	0.22	$99.42M	$6.20	3.52
Utz Brands	$1.44B	1.82	-$24.94M	-$0.25	-74.50

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MED or UTZ?

Medifast received 332 more outperform votes than Utz Brands when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.83% of users gave Medifast an outperform vote while only 60.00% of users gave Utz Brands an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Medifast	Outperform Votes 383 63.83%	Underperform Votes 217 36.17%
Utz Brands	Outperform Votes 51 60.00%	Underperform Votes 34 40.00%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MED or UTZ?

95.5% of Medifast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Utz Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Medifast shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.0% of Utz Brands shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more risk & volatility, MED or UTZ?

Medifast has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Utz Brands has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer MED or UTZ?

Medifast currently has a consensus target price of $49.75, indicating a potential upside of 127.69%. Utz Brands has a consensus target price of $20.42, indicating a potential upside of 9.62%. Given Utz Brands' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Medifast is more favorable than Utz Brands.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medifast	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Utz Brands	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is MED or UTZ more profitable?

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

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

Summary

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