Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Makes New $303,000 Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has invested $303,000 in Vital Farms, acquiring 7,776 shares, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Vital Farms, raising their price targets significantly, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price set at $49.80.
• Insider sales occurred recently, with CEO Russell Diez-Canseco selling 16,700 shares valued at approximately $790,244, reflecting a 2.38% decrease in his holdings.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 1,453.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,243,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,888,000 after buying an additional 1,163,399 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the first quarter worth approximately $17,633,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,863,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,262,000 after buying an additional 432,848 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,207,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,505,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $244,356.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 16,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.32, for a total transaction of $790,244.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer 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 quarter, insiders sold 404,401 shares of company stock worth $20,512,230. 21.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vital Farms Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VITL opened at $44.61 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.42. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 0.92.

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

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.

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