Piper Sandler Lowers Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $23.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 50.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on VTLE. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.36.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $15.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $590.59 million, a PE ratio of -3.21 and a beta of 2.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.93 and a 200 day moving average of $27.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy has a 12 month low of $12.30 and a 12 month high of $55.87.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. On average, research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $117,601.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,141.49. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,528. This represents a 13.13 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 805.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 276.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Vital Energy by 247.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.