Brokerages Set Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) PT at $28.20

Key Points

• Vital Energy, Inc. currently has an average recommendation of "Reduce" from analysts, with four sell, six hold, and one buy rating among the eleven analysts covering the stock.
• Brokerages have recently cut target prices for Vital Energy, with Mizuho lowering it from $29.00 to $23.00 and Piper Sandler from $17.00 to $16.00, both maintaining "neutral" ratings.
• Major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares at an average price of $18.25, resulting in a 3.18% decrease in his position, now holding about $139 million in shares post-sale.

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.20.

Several analysts have recently commented on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $17.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,652,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,500. The firm has a market cap of $689.44 million, a P/E ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.73. Vital Energy has a one year low of $12.30 and a one year high of $37.33.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 38.52% and a positive return on equity of 11.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total value 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 approximately $139,045,527.25. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTLE. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Vital Energy by 27.0% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 85,483 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 53.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 5,079 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Vital Energy by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 304,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,410,000 after purchasing an additional 38,537 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 3,678.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 29,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 123,148 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 19,753 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is 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.