Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $22.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 36.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.18.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTLE opened at $16.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $625.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.77 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.33. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $12.30 and a twelve month high of $47.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.34% and a negative net margin of 6.37%. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total transaction of $4,562,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,618,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 251,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,550,231.97. This represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $39,392,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,284,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,289 shares during the period. Condire Management LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $15,995,000. Finally, Ancient Art L.P. bought a new stake in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% 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.