Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 632,537 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 41.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,153,008 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 632,537 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Vital Farms worth $30,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VITL. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 4,382.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VITL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Vital Farms from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vital Farms from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Vital Farms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.08.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $13.55 on Monday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.95 and a twelve month high of $53.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.33. The firm has a market cap of $580.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.12). Vital Farms had a return on equity of 14.47% and a net margin of 6.10%.The firm had revenue of $187.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Vital Farms’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post -0.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other news, Director Glenda J. Flanagan bought 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.33 per share, for a total transaction of $50,813.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,358.34. The trade was a 19.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephanie Coon bought 5,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.42 per share, with a total value of $49,635.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 62,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,683.88. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 38,700 shares of company stock worth $320,864. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Profile

Vital Farms, traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol VITL, is a U.S.-based food company specializing in pasture-raised egg and dairy products. The company partners with a network of family farms across the United States to produce eggs, butter and related items under a certified humane, pasture-centric farming model. Vital Farms’ supply chain emphasizes animal welfare, environmental stewardship and transparent sourcing, appealing to consumers seeking ethically produced, high-quality ingredients.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Vital Farms began by marketing pasture-raised eggs to health- and ethically minded shoppers.