Hi, Shrewd!        Login  
Shrewd'm.com 
A merry & shrewd investing community
Best Of FKBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd
Search
Shrewd'm.com Merry shrewd investors
Search
Best Of FKBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd


The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
Answer this questionContinue to Shrewd'mThis note won't appear again
Investment Strategies / Falling Knives
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (3) |
Author: kelbon   😊 😞
Number: of 1166 
Subject: Re: MED (Medifast)
Date: 01/28/23 1:03 PM
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
No. of Recommendations: 7

Any thoughts / opinions?

Earnings per share growth is forecast to be anemic for the next couple of years in contrast to about 45% a year over the last five. The story here seems to have changed. The company was accelerating fast and now appears to be slamming into a wall.

It looks like only a few analysts follow Medifast, so it's safe to say that there isn't a consensus when it comes to future earnings, rather just a couple of opinions.

Medifast is in good financial shape and management appears confident about the business in as much as they are paying out about half of this year's net earnings in dividends. The present P/E and the high dividend yield are likely to be a floor under the stock in the event of no-to-slow earnings growth. But, if earnings slump in any meaningful way the stock price will surely follow. In general, It seems to me that the weight-loss business is potentially fraught with boom or bust. There's no end of possible machinations when it comes to promising a slimmer you in exchange for your hard earned cash.

Consider Weight Watchers. WW hit peak earnings about 10 years ago, but since then they have been on a roller coaster and are expected to book a loss for this year. The stock price is a twentieth of what it was at its peak in 2018. This is all probably more because of the nature of the dieting business than Weight Watchers tried and true approach being particularly flawed.

For what it is worth Morningstar gives MED a Very High Uncertainty rating. Although Value Line is more sanguine about their prospects, I think that, in spite of good financials and impressive growth, the view ahead is still vague enough to make investing in this company a gamble and that things might equally play out well, or poorly.

Value or value trap? Only time will tell.
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
Print the post
Members reply directly to kelbon here — and replies get answered. Reading is free; so is joining the conversation. Join Shrewd'm »
This community has written 1,155 posts about Falling Knives. The article-length ones it recommended most:
FKA: DG · 25 recs · 2023
MTD – A Masterclass in Un-Swiss Capital Allocation · 17 recs · 2026
Alpha Metallurgical Resources (AMR) · 15 recs · 2026
Coloplast (CLPBY) · 12 recs · 2026
TSLA · 12 recs · 2025
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (3) |


Announcements
Falling Knives FAQ
Contact Shrewd'm
Contact the developer of these message boards.

Best Of FK | Best Of | Favourites & Replies | All Boards | Followed Shrewds | Open Questions | Moving a community