Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Raymond James from $44.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 43.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.17.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

VTLE stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, reaching $20.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 518,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,519. Vital Energy has a 52 week low of $20.58 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $796.46 million, a P/E ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 3.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.62.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. As a group, analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 1,878.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 6,067 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its position in Vital Energy by 127.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 25,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 14,237 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 34.7% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 22,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.