Vital Energy’s (VTLE) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their neutral rating on shares of Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $17.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $15.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on VTLE. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.30.

Vital Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $16.80 on Thursday. Vital Energy has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $45.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $651.34 million, a PE ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.40 and its 200-day moving average is $22.08.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.34% and a negative net margin of 6.37%. Vital Energy’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 251,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,550,231.97. This trade represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $906,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,568,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 146.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 249.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.