Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Has $7.49 Million Holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. $VTLE

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Vital Energy, Inc. by 27.7%, selling 135,366 shares and now owns approximately 0.91% of the company, valued at $7.49 million.
• Vital Energy reported a Q2 EPS of $2.02, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.98, but had a 9.8% decline in revenue year-over-year, totaling $429.63 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their holdings with 86.54% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors, while analysts maintain a mixed outlook with an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $28.20.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 27.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 352,955 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,366 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.91% of Vital Energy worth $7,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $149,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of VTLE stock traded up $0.58 on Wednesday, reaching $16.24. 506,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,361,550. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $628.29 million, a P/E ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.73. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.30 and a 1-year high of $36.72.

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

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $28.20.

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.