Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Takes Position in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

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

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 20,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. 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 report on Monday, August 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and thirteen have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.80.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ VITL opened at $32.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.91 and a 12-month high of $53.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35 and a beta of 0.92.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,482,070 shares in the company, valued at $330,326,287.20. This represents a 1.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 407,868 shares of company stock valued at $20,692,884. Corporate insiders own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

About Vital Farms

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.