Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 130,068 Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 130,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,022,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Vital Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE VTLE traded up $0.37 on Thursday, reaching $14.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 744,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,675. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.11. The stock has a market cap of $563.08 million, a PE ratio of -3.06 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. Vital Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.30 and a twelve month high of $54.54.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,900.62. The trade was a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTLE shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.36.

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.