Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Makes New $11.51 Million Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired 377,595 shares of Vital Farms, Inc. valued at approximately $11.5 million, indicating increased interest from institutional investors.
• Vital Farms reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36, exceeding estimates and showing a 25.4% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their target prices for Vital Farms, with Mizuho raising it from $45 to $53, reflecting a strong consensus rating of "Buy" among eleven analysts.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 377,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,505,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of Vital Farms as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VITL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 53.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,049 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 6.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 84,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,188,000 after purchasing an additional 17,017 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,114,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Vital Farms by 7.7% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VITL. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.94. 880,772 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,186,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 0.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.35. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.91 and a 52-week high of $51.55.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $184.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 7.84%.The business's revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,700 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.11, for a total transaction of $770,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 702,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,391,168.36. This trade represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.93, for a total value of $38,316.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,823,745.81. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 94,905 shares of company stock worth $3,685,646. Corporate insiders own 21.30% 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.