Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $44.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.89% from the stock’s previous close.

VITL has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.57.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $33.11 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.69. Vital Farms has a 12 month low of $17.55 and a 12 month high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. As a group, analysts predict that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock valued at $7,855,957. 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. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 152.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter worth $35,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors 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.