Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $44.57.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $517,584.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 46,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,944,222.24. The trade was a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957 in the last ninety days. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $168,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Vital Farms by 242.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 88,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 62,325 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Vital Farms by 230.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 230,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,801,000 after purchasing an additional 161,131 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 317.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 74,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 56,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 651.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after buying an additional 428,382 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL stock opened at $43.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.18 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.76. Vital Farms has a one year low of $14.37 and a one year high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.