Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by research analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 68.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on VITL. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $30.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.82 and its 200-day moving average is $35.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.90. Vital Farms has a 12-month low of $17.40 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.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.32 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Farms news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $517,584.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,944,222.24. The trade was a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,115,595.02. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957 over the last three months. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Farms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vital Farms by 417.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,307,000 after purchasing an additional 87,980 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after purchasing an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,904,000 after buying an additional 415,614 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 955,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,028,000 after buying an additional 89,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

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.