Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.20.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VTLE. Mizuho decreased 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 decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial cut Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vital Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th.

Vital Energy Trading Up 14.9%

NYSE:VTLE opened at $18.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.86. The stock has a market cap of $702.41 million, a P/E ratio of -0.92 and a beta of 1.60. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $12.30 and a 1 year high of $38.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,618,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 48.3% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,895,000 after acquiring an additional 46,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,157,000 after acquiring an additional 9,676 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,397,000 after acquiring an additional 157,325 shares during the period. 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.