Head-To-Head Analysis: Medifast (NYSE:MED) versus Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.0% of Celsius shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Medifast shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Celsius 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, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Celsius and Medifast, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Celsius	2	3	20	0	2.72
Medifast	1	1	0	0	1.50

Celsius currently has a consensus price target of $62.95, indicating a potential upside of 66.01%. Medifast has a consensus price target of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 56.09%. Given Celsius’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Celsius is more favorable than Medifast.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Celsius and Medifast”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Celsius	$2.13 billion	4.60	$145.07 million	$0.10	379.20
Medifast	$429.70 million	0.27	$2.09 million	$0.01	1,057.10

Celsius has higher revenue and earnings than Medifast. Celsius 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 Celsius and Medifast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Celsius	7.91%	36.88%	10.24%
Medifast	0.76%	2.00%	1.50%

Volatility & Risk

Celsius has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medifast has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Celsius beats Medifast on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Celsius

Celsius Holdings, Inc. develops, processes, markets, distributes, and sells functional energy drinks and liquid supplements in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canadian, European, Middle Eastern, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers CELSIUS, a fitness drink or supplement designed to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat; various flavors and carbonated and non-carbonated functional energy drinks under the CELSIUS Originals and Vibe name, as well as functional energy drink under the CELSIUS Essentials and CELSIUS On-the-Go Powder names; and CELSIUS ready-to drink products. It distributes its products through direct-to-store delivery, distributors, supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, nutritional stores, and mass merchants, as well as health clubs, gyms, the military, and e-commerce websites. The company was formerly known as Vector Ventures, Inc. and changed its name to Celsius Holdings, Inc. in January 2007. Celsius Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

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.