Brokerages Set Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) PT at $46.00

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,306.64. This trade represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 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 $61,135.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 5.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 400.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

VTLE stock opened at $28.39 on Thursday. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 3.19. 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’s fifty day moving average is $29.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.95.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. Vital Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

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.