Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Short Interest Up 17.4% in May

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,830,000 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the April 30th total of 5,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 23.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,094,209. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $47.80. 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 $663.90 million, a PE ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.82.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. Vital Energy's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. Insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,070,289 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company's stock worth $45,895,000 after acquiring an additional 46,300 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company's stock worth $43,157,000 after purchasing an additional 9,676 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $39,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 35.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 675,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,330,000 after buying an additional 177,851 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VTLE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.36.

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.