Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $27.00. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Vital Energy traded as low as $19.76 and last traded at $20.16, with a volume of 71908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.10.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on VTLE. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.08.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 247.4% during 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 last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $793.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.38 and a beta of 3.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.90 million. On average, analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.