Piper Sandler Cuts Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $16.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has lowered its target price for Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) from $17.00 to $16.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock, which indicates a potential upside of 5.06% from its current price.
• Vital Energy's stock is currently trading at $15.23 after a decrease of 1.1%, and it has recorded a 1-year low of $12.30 and a high of $38.02.
• Recent insider activity includes major shareholder Richard D. Campbell selling 250,000 shares at an average price of $18.25, resulting in a 3.18% decrease in his shareholding.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on VTLE. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $28.20.

Vital Energy Stock Down 5.0%

VTLE traded down $0.7850 on Thursday, hitting $14.7850. 587,079 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,014. The stock's fifty day moving average is $17.70 and its 200-day moving average is $19.43. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $38.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $572.18 million, a PE ratio of -0.75 and a beta of 1.60.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $429.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total transaction of $4,562,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,618,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. This trade represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 48.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vital Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company's stock worth $45,895,000 after acquiring an additional 46,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Vital Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company's stock worth $43,157,000 after purchasing an additional 9,676 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $39,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 23.3% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

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.