Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.24, but opened at $14.75. Vital Energy shares last traded at $14.81, with a volume of 129,677 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTLE. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vital Energy from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

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 market capitalization of $611.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 2.82. The firm's 50-day moving average is $20.17 and its 200 day moving average is $27.40.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This represents a 13.13 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,110,000 after buying an additional 187,503 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company's stock worth $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vital Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company's stock worth $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

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.