Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold” for Vital Farms, with eight hold, five buy and one sell rating among 14 firms. The average 12-month price target is $17.18, above the reported $11.99 share price.
• Vital Farms reported quarterly revenue of $166.03 million, exceeding the $160.24 million consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of negative $0.47 matched expectations. Revenue declined 10.2% year over year, and analysts expect a full-year loss of $0.48 per share.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 98.59%, with BlackRock initiating a $60.2 million position and other major investors increasing their holdings.

Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has 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 brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.1818.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Vital Farms from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Vital Farms from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vital Farms from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price target on Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $11.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.17. Vital Farms has a fifty-two week low of $7.95 and a fifty-two week high of $46.12. The firm has a market cap of $514.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -299.75 and a beta of 1.05.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.47). The company had revenue of $166.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.24 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 0.02% and a return on equity of 3.46%. Vital Farms's revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VITL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at $60,153,000. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 1,998.7% in the 1st quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,261,533 shares of the company's stock worth $31,933,000 after buying an additional 2,153,775 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 41.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock worth $30,400,000 after buying an additional 632,537 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth $25,534,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 685,000 shares of the company's stock worth $21,879,000 after buying an additional 162,500 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Company Profile

Vital Farms, Inc is a food company focused on ethically produced pasture-raised eggs and other products. The company's offerings include pasture-raised eggs, butter, ghee and hard-boiled eggs, which are sold under the Vital Farms brand through grocery retailers and other distribution channels.

Founded in 2007, Vital Farms works with a network of family farms and emphasizes animal welfare, pasture access and supply-chain transparency. Its products are marketed primarily in the United States and are available through retail and foodservice channels.

The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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