Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on VTLE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VTLE opened at $32.76 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 3.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 800.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vital Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,945,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,227,000 after buying an additional 282,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $10,443,000. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Company 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.