Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $27.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 3.67% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $28.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 3.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.12. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 11.43 % 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. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 800.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after acquiring an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,945,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,227,000 after purchasing an additional 282,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,443,000. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.