Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Up 6.8% - Still a Buy?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $19.06 and last traded at $19.11. Approximately 285,923 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,094,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VTLE shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.36.

Vital Energy Stock Up 6.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.35. The company has a market cap of $830.64 million, a PE ratio of -4.51 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott acquired 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,550,231.97. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $124,000. 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.