Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Stock Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. by 16.5% in Q2, now owning 56,571 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million.
• Several institutional investors have also significantly raised their holdings, including American Century Companies which boosted their stake by 1,453% in Q1.
• Twelve brokerages have rated Vital Farms with a "Buy" rating, with price targets increased to an average of $49.80.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 16.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,571 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,008 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.13% of Vital Farms worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 17.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,863,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,262,000 after purchasing an additional 432,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 1,453.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,243,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,399 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 3.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,209,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,855,000 after purchasing an additional 37,614 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 13.2% in the first quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 978,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,806,000 after purchasing an additional 113,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 20.0% in the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 754,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,983,000 after purchasing an additional 125,574 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 brokerages recently commented on VITL. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, September 18th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 target price on Vital Farms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Stephanie Coon sold 10,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.15, for a total value of $461,730.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 45,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,112,700.85. This trade represents a 17.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.32, for a total value of $790,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 685,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,450,920.32. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 404,401 shares of company stock worth $20,512,230. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $41.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.79 and a beta of 0.92. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.91 and a 52 week high of $53.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $45.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.05.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for 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 last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Vital Farms 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.

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