Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.09.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VTLE. Mizuho cut their target price on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTLE opened at $32.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 3.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 6.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,306.64. This trade represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,250,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Vital Energy by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after acquiring an additional 71,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after acquiring an additional 282,574 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 52.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 22,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Vital Energy by 800.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vital Energy Company Profile

Vital Energy, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the United States. The company was formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc and changed its name to Vital Energy, Inc in January 2023.