Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.0833.

VITL has been the subject of several research reports. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vital Farms from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $12.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $554.91 million, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Vital Farms has a one year low of $7.95 and a one year high of $53.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average of $18.11.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephanie Coon bought 5,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.42 per share, with a total value of $49,635.90. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at $524,683.88. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan bought 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 37,498 shares in the company, valued at $312,358.34. This trade represents a 19.43% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 38,700 shares of company stock valued at $320,864. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,442,000. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 131.7% in the third quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP now owns 993,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,876,000 after purchasing an additional 564,711 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,520,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,564,000 after purchasing an additional 142,790 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 119.4% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 238,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,631,000 after purchasing an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,845,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,892,000 after purchasing an additional 530,008 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.