Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Lowered to $23.00 at Piper Sandler

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Piper Sandler from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.36.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 728,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,600. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.39. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $55.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $611.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,528. The trade was a 13.13 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $788,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,292,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company's stock worth $15,611,000 after buying an additional 103,583 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.