Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its Vital Farms stake by 41.6% in the first quarter, buying 632,537 more shares and bringing its total holding to 2.15 million shares, or about 5.02% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 98.59% of Vital Farms stock.
• Vital Farms reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates with a loss of $0.03 per share even as revenue rose 15.4% year over year to $187.16 million; analysts currently have an average Hold rating on the stock.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 41.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,153,008 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 632,537 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 5.02% of Vital Farms worth $30,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 89.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 19,381 shares of the company's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 9,136 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 5.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,057 shares of the company's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 3.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 415,420 shares of the company's stock worth $12,658,000 after purchasing an additional 13,397 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Vital Farms by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 89,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,739,000 after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephanie Coon purchased 5,895 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,635.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at $524,683.88. This represents a 10.45% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Michael Holland acquired 12,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $99,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $305,200. This represents a 48.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VITL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson raised Vital Farms to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered Vital Farms from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Craig Hallum downgraded Vital Farms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.08.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $13.55 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $10.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $580.62 million, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.95 and a 1-year high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $182.40 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms' supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.

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