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

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.67.

VITL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price 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 dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $39.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.98. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $14.16 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 35.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of Vital Farms 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Vital Farms by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,859,000 after buying an additional 214,839 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,412 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 34,758 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.