Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Vital Energy from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the company's stock performance.
• Vital Energy's stock has experienced challenges, with a reported quarterly revenue of $429.63 million, falling short of analyst expectations of $481.25 million, and a year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Despite recent downgrades, 86.54% of Vital Energy's stock is currently owned by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $26.44.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

VTLE stock opened at $15.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.65. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $12.30 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market cap of $605.21 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.45.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.The firm had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 85,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 18,171 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 5,079 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company's stock worth $45,895,000 after purchasing an additional 46,300 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,961,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 939.7% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 261,721 shares of the company's stock worth $5,554,000 after purchasing an additional 236,548 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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