Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several research firms have commented on VTLE. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $155,481.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 73,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,307,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,110,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

VTLE stock opened at $28.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.81. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 3.19.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.