Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VITL. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 116.1% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,056,000 after acquiring an additional 463,471 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms by 651.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 494,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after purchasing an additional 428,382 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at $15,977,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 73.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,675,000 after purchasing an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 73.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 679,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,766,000 after buying an additional 288,039 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Farms Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $40.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.47 and a beta of 0.97. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.41 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.49.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The company had revenue of $147.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.41 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,531,574.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 30.20% of the company’s stock.

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.