Ancient Art L.P. Purchases Shares of 335,000 Vital Energy, Inc. $VTLE

Key Points

• Ancient Art L.P. acquired 335,000 shares of Vital Energy, Inc. for approximately $7.11 million, making it the 11th largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Brokerages have largely downgraded Vital Energy, with the consensus rating now at "Reduce" and an average target price of $28.20.
• Vital Energy reported a 51% increase in earnings per share year-over-year, with a quarterly revenue of $429.63 million, lower than analyst expectations of $481.25 million.

Ancient Art L.P. bought a new stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 335,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,109,000. Vital Energy accounts for 2.1% of Ancient Art L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ancient Art L.P. owned approximately 0.86% of Vital Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VTLE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the first quarter worth $149,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the first quarter worth $225,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $257,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTLE has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $28.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total value of $906,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,568,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VTLE traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.41. 1,461,004 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,116,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $634.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.83 and a beta of 1.62. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $36.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.97 and a 200-day moving average of $17.92.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $429.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 38.52% and a positive return on equity of 11.86%. The company's revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.