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

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $14.88, but opened at $15.49. Vital Energy shares last traded at $15.43, with a volume of 258,716 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTLE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.36.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $663.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.82.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. This trade represents a 2.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $123,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $124,000. 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.