JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $23.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 8.57% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.46.

Vital Energy Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $21.19 on Thursday. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $19.85 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $807.59 million, a PE ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 3.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. On average, analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth $257,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 26,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,392,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 154.5% in the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 23,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,214,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,466,000 after purchasing an additional 118,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.