Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives $43.71 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on VITL shares. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $31.36 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.68. Vital Farms has a 52-week low of $22.82 and a 52-week high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total transaction of $1,885,086.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This trade represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,474 shares of company stock worth $5,844,140. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 417.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after buying an additional 516,139 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,904,000 after buying an additional 415,614 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 628,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,696,000 after buying an additional 308,425 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 579,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,853,000 after acquiring an additional 297,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

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.