Renaissance Group LLC Raises Stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Renaissance Group LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,917 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $5,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vital Farms by 417.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after buying an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,172,000 after buying an additional 516,139 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 628,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,696,000 after acquiring an additional 308,425 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 905,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,123,000 after acquiring an additional 208,951 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 864,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,576,000 after acquiring an additional 157,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL stock opened at $32.69 on Tuesday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.12 and a 12-month 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 $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.68.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

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.