Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 4.7% - Time to Sell?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.07 and last traded at $19.89. Approximately 159,420 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,104,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VTLE shares. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.09.

Vital Energy Stock Down 1.5%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $16.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.52. The company has a market cap of $638.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.87 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 6.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.34%. Vital Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. This represents a 2.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $39,392,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Vital Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,284,584 shares of the company's stock worth $69,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,289 shares during the last quarter. Condire Management LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $15,995,000. Finally, Ancient Art L.P. acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the 1st quarter worth $7,109,000. 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.