Arizona State Retirement System Makes New Investment in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Vital Energy by 247.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $117,601.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,413 shares in the company, valued at $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $21.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $807.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 3.07. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.85 and a 12 month high of $58.30.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VTLE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.46.

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.