Piper Sandler Trims Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Target Price to $52.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Piper Sandler from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.27% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on VTLE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Vital Energy from $86.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Vital Energy from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.10.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.76. 677,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 761,605. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $40.00 and a 52-week high of $62.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 3.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.92.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $444.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $440.85 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 44.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $314,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the first quarter valued at about $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth $641,000. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.