Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $27.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.35% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VTLE. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research raised Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.90.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $33.46 on Wednesday. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Vital Energy by 52.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 22,711 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 132,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,925,000 after acquiring an additional 57,336 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 18.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 303,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,593,000 after acquiring an additional 46,248 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 16.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Vital Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.