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

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

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VITL. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $938,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,300,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,859,000 after purchasing an additional 214,839 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 882.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 18,252 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 300,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,553,000 after purchasing an additional 121,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $36.99 on Friday. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $14.14 and a 12-month high of $48.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.83 and its 200-day moving average is $36.49.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current 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.