Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Cut to $24.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $36.00 to $24.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup downgraded Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.54.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE opened at $22.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $852.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.71 and a beta of 3.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.53. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $19.85 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares in the company, valued at $880,900.62. This represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTLE. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,392,000. Condire Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $15,995,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Vital Energy by 14.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.