Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Has $10.67 Million Stake in Vital Energy, Inc. $VTLE

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Energy, Inc. to 502,740 shares, worth approximately $10.67 million, a 4.0% rise during the first quarter.
• Major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares for $4.56 million, representing a 3.18% decrease in ownership, leaving him with approximately 7.62 million shares.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Vital Energy's stock rating with a consensus price target of $28.20, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company's future performance.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 502,740 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,480 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.30% of Vital Energy worth $10,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,278 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 12,796 shares of the company's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 17,514 shares of the company's stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC increased its stake in Vital Energy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC now owns 22,576 shares of the company's stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 7,568,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Vital Energy Stock Up 3.3%

NYSE VTLE traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.32. 3,812,353 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,976,751. Vital Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $37.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $670.44 million, a PE ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.84.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current 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.