Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Invests $1.21 Million in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 31,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP owned about 0.07% of Vital Farms as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 worth $87,262,000 after buying an additional 432,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $37,888,000 after buying an additional 1,163,399 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,209,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,855,000 after buying an additional 37,614 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 1,015,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,106,000 after buying an additional 37,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 807,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,123,000 after purchasing an additional 21,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vital Farms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.80.

Vital Farms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of VITL stock opened at $32.87 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.91 and a 1 year high of $53.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 0.92.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $184.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $5,096,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,482,070 shares in the company, valued at $330,326,287.20. The trade was a 1.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 407,868 shares of company stock worth $20,692,884. 21.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.