Q3 EPS Estimates for Vital Energy Lifted by Analyst

Key Points

• Capital One Financial raised its Q3 2025 earnings estimate for Vital Energy to $1.86 per share, up from $1.75, with a full-year earnings consensus estimate currently at $8.49 per share.
• Various analysts have provided mixed ratings on Vital Energy, with five analysts rating the stock as a sell and only one issuing a buy rating, resulting in an average rating of "Hold."
• Vital Energy's stock has seen significant trading activity, with a market capitalization of $594.63 million and a recent trading price of $15.37, down from a 52-week high of $38.02.

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Capital One Financial upped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Vital Energy in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, August 12th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.86 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.75. 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 $2.44 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $8.68 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.96 EPS.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.Vital Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS.

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

Vital Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Vital Energy stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $14.45. The company had a trading volume of 677,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,632. The firm has a market capitalization of $559.22 million, a P/E ratio of -0.73 and a beta of 1.60. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $12.30 and a twelve month high of $38.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.62 and a 200-day moving average of $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VTLE. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $39,392,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,284,584 shares of the company's stock worth $69,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,289 shares during the period. Condire Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,995,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 3,344.0% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 428,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,899,000 after buying an additional 416,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.