Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.42 Million Stock Holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,271 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Vital Energy worth $3,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VTLE. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 1,878.3% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 6,067 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the third quarter valued at $7,945,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its position in Vital Energy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 45,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE VTLE opened at $32.80 on Friday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.85 and a 12-month high of $58.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.63. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTLE has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.09.

Vital Energy 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.