Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE: VTLE) has received an average rating of "Reduce" from eleven brokerages, with four analysts recommending a sell and six a hold.
• The company's stock price target has decreased, with Mizuho setting a new target of $19.00, down from $22.00.
• Major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares at an average price of $18.25, resulting in a total transaction value of $4.56 million.

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.80.

VTLE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price 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. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of Vital Energy stock traded down $0.61 on Friday, hitting $15.75. 2,094,868 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,939,685. The company has a market cap of $609.53 million, a P/E ratio of -0.80 and a beta of 1.62. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.21. Vital Energy has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $36.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 38.52% and a positive return on equity of 11.86%. The company's revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total transaction of $4,562,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,618,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,045,527.25. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 48.3% during the 1st 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. increased its holdings 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 valued at $45,895,000 after purchasing an additional 46,300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,397,000 after purchasing an additional 157,325 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 673,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,833,000 after purchasing an additional 18,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,492,000 after purchasing an additional 83,788 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.