Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Raised to $35.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price objective upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VTLE. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp downgraded Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.09.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VTLE opened at $32.89 on Tuesday. Vital Energy has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $58.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.49.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $155,481.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares in the company, valued at $796,538.76. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,250,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 96.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after buying an additional 71,385 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Vital Energy by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,227,000 after acquiring an additional 282,574 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Vital Energy by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 22,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Vital Energy by 800.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.