Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $38.00 to $37.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.66, but opened at $27.46. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Vital Energy shares last traded at $27.30, with a volume of 133,955 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms have also commented on VTLE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $41.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Vital Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the company’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 $155,481.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017 in the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $440,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 52,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19,165 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $641,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $972.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.15.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.42). Vital Energy had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $476.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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.