Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading Up 3.8% – Time to Buy?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares traded up 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.80 and last traded at $30.73. 60,373 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 895,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 3.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 234.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 1,878.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 6,067 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vital Energy

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.