Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.00.

VTLE has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $29.27 on Thursday. Vital Energy has a 52 week low of $25.85 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 3.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value 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. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following 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 ninety days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $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. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vital Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 234.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.