Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading Up 4.7% – Still a Buy?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shot up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $34.67 and last traded at $34.83. 107,071 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 740,283 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTLE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.90.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 3.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.18 and its 200 day moving average is $31.94.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Vital Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 454.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 24,230 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 96.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 71,385 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vital Energy

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.