Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives $30.36 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.36.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VTLE opened at $15.47 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $599.74 million, a P/E ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.99. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.71.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 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 $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This represents a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Vital Energy by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Vital Energy by 247.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $701,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.