Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.3333.

VITL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho set a $20.00 price objective on Vital Farms in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $25.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Michael Holland bought 12,484 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,872.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 38,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,200. This represents a 48.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Glenda J. Flanagan purchased 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.33 per share, with a total value of $50,813.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,358.34. This represents a 19.43% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 59,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Vital Farms by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in Vital Farms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 65,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Vital Farms by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $10.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $464.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.09. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $7.95 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.96 and its 200 day moving average is $20.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 6.10% and a return on equity of 14.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

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.