Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.25.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, September 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,734 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $586,526.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 649,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,771,424.20. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 5,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.25, for a total value of $176,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,386,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,113,197.50. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 86,401 shares of company stock valued at $3,008,045 over the last three months. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vital Farms by 0.4% during the third quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Cim LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 12,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 8,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $32.79 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.65. Vital Farms has a one year low of $28.87 and a one year high of $53.13. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84 and a beta of 1.06.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $198.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.35 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The company’s revenue was up 37.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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.