KeyCorp Has Negative Outlook of Vital Energy Q3 Earnings

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) - Equities researchers at KeyCorp dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Vital Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, April 20th. KeyCorp analyst T. Rezvan now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.09. The consensus estimate for Vital Energy's current full-year earnings is $8.49 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Vital Energy's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.81 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.67 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.58 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.49 EPS.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Vital Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE VTLE traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $15.90. The company had a trading volume of 457,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $615.17 million, a P/E ratio of -3.35 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $55.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.38.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,110,000 after acquiring an additional 187,503 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,662 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,424,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

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.