Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Lowered to $21.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho lowered 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, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.09.

Vital Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VTLE opened at $21.28 on Monday. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $12.30 and a 52-week high of $47.80. 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 has a market capitalization of $824.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.08.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of Vital Energy 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 acquisition, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 251,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,550,231.97. The trade was a 2.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 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.