33,473 Shares in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Acquired by Aurora Investment Counsel

Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,262,000. Aurora Investment Counsel owned 0.08% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 191.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

VITL stock opened at $29.32 on Friday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.87 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.64 and its 200-day moving average is $35.70.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total transaction of $1,036,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,014,890 shares in the company, valued at $302,973,099.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $6,171,500. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.57.

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.