Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.12% of Vital Energy worth $1,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 276.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 247.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VTLE. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup downgraded Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares in the company, valued at $880,900.62. The trade was a 12.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy 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 $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of VTLE opened at $21.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 3.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $28.13 and its 200-day moving average is $29.39. Vital Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $19.85 and a one year high of $58.30. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 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.