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

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Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Medifast (MED - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Medifast is one of 194 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Medifast is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MED's full-year earnings has moved 2.1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, MED has gained about 3.1% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 0.2%. This shows that Medifast is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is SunOpta (STKL - Free Report) . The stock has returned 6.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, SunOpta's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 27.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Medifast belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 49 individual companies and currently sits at #221 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.3% so far this year, so MED is performing better in this area. SunOpta is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Medifast and SunOpta as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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