Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Takes $828,000 Position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 39,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $828,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP owned 0.10% of Vital Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in 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 holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 304,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,410,000 after buying an additional 38,537 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 3,678.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 29,831 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,022,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 123,148 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 19,753 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTLE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (up previously from $15.00) on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.30.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of VTLE traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.59. The company had a trading volume of 911,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,148,000. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.55. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.30 and a 1-year high of $44.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $720.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.50 and a beta of 1.60.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 6.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total value of $4,562,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,618,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott acquired 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. This represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.