Analysts Issue Forecasts for Vital Energy Q1 Earnings

Key Points

• Capital One Financial predicts Vital Energy will report $1.54 earnings per share for Q1 2026, with a consensus full-year estimate of $8.49 per share.
• In its latest quarterly report, Vital Energy announced earnings of $2.02 per share, surpassing estimates, but its revenue of $429.63 million fell short of expectations.
• Analysts have given Vital Energy a mixed outlook, with five analysts rating it as a sell and a consensus target price of $28.20 amidst a current stock price of $15.24.

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) - Capital One Financial issued their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Vital Energy in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 12th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Vital Energy's current full-year earnings is $8.49 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Vital Energy's Q2 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.32 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.55 EPS.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%. The business had revenue of $429.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $481.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial cut Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.20.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $15.24. The stock had a trading volume of 219,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,083. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $38.02. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $17.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $589.62 million, a PE ratio of -0.77 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $906,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,568,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 53.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 5,079 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 304,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 38,537 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 3,678.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 29,831 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 123,148 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 19,753 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the first quarter worth $768,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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