Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.20.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VITL shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This represents a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vital Farms by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after buying an additional 31,187 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter worth about $848,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 57.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 34,758 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $30.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.77 and its 200 day moving average is $36.80. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $12.38 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

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.