Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 282,574 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.70% of Vital Energy worth $77,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTLE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,833,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after purchasing an additional 17,054 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Vital Energy by 800.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Vital Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,921,000 after acquiring an additional 18,950 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 29.3% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 207,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,913,000 after buying an additional 47,100 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,042,000 after purchasing an additional 64,881 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $37.85 per share, with a total value of $94,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,411,373.65. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock opened at $26.11 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.94 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company has a market cap of $957.19 million, a PE ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 3.17.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.42). Vital Energy had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VTLE shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp cut Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.45.

Vital Energy 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.