Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.36.

VTLE has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Siebert Williams Shank cut shares of Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. This represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 130,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,046,000 after buying an additional 3,571 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,292,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $788,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company's stock worth $15,611,000 after purchasing an additional 103,583 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.82 during trading on Thursday, hitting $20.15. 1,316,511 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,103,270. The stock has a market cap of $781.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.24 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.43. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $47.80.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vital Energy Company Profile

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.