Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $44.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on VITL. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.57.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,248,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,316. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Vital Farms has a twelve month low of $18.12 and a twelve month high of $48.41.

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Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.32 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957 over the last ninety days. 27.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

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.