Stifel Nicolaus Increases Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Price Target to $44.00

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) had its price target lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $34.00 to $44.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.33.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL opened at $43.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.88. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $14.37 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total transaction of $1,036,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,014,890 shares in the company, valued at $302,973,099.10. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,296,000 after purchasing an additional 31,187 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 106.8% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after buying an additional 364,837 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Vital Farms by 35.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,646,000 after buying an additional 257,492 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 651.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.