Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 62,771 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,116,497 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,771 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.55% of Vital Energy worth $65,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 679.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 90,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after acquiring an additional 78,706 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $124,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 94,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,381,000 after purchasing an additional 52,382 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 192.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 61,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 40,681 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VTLE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Vital Energy Stock Down 15.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VTLE opened at $13.28 on Friday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The firm has a market cap of $506.32 million, a P/E ratio of -2.80 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.45.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The business had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Energy news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $123,841.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. The trade was a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Company insiders own 1.20% 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.