Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $788,000 Investment in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Vital Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vital Energy by 276.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Vital Energy by 247.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,141.49. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTLE opened at $22.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.64. Vital Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.85 and a fifty-two week high of $58.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 3.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTLE has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.46.

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.