Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 130,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,022,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 247.4% in 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 during the period. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on VTLE. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup downgraded shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.54.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE stock opened at $22.48 on Thursday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.85 and a twelve month high of $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $856.77 million, a P/E ratio of -4.73 and a beta of 3.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.48.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted 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. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares in the company, valued at $880,900.62. This represents a 12.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.