Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,381 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,539 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Vital Energy worth $2,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Vital Energy by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 5,079 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Vital Energy by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 304,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,410,000 after buying an additional 38,537 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Vital Energy by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,611,000 after buying an additional 103,583 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Vital Energy by 3,678.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 29,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,022,000. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 trade represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $906,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,568,933 shares in the company, valued at $137,149,065.96. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VTLE shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective (up from $15.00) on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.30.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE opened at $16.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $651.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.60. Vital Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $45.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

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.