Q2 EPS Estimates for Vital Energy Decreased by Analyst

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Capital One Financial decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Vital Energy in a report released on Wednesday, May 14th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now anticipates that the company will earn $2.04 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.28. The consensus estimate for Vital Energy's current full-year earnings is $8.49 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Vital Energy's Q4 2025 earnings at $2.18 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.29 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VTLE. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.36.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VTLE traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.74. The stock had a trading volume of 624,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,948. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.99. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $51.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $571.52 million, a PE ratio of -3.11 and a beta of 1.53.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. This trade represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,528. The trade was a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,284,584 shares of the company's stock worth $69,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,289 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vital Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,895,000 after acquiring an additional 46,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company's stock worth $43,157,000 after acquiring an additional 9,676 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Vital Energy by 35.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 675,293 shares of the company's stock worth $14,330,000 after purchasing an additional 177,851 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.