Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $22.00 to $16.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.27% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on VTLE. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $25.78.

Vital Energy Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:VTLE opened at $15.49 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.46 and its 200-day moving average is $16.55. 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 has a 52 week low of $12.30 and a 52 week high of $36.72. The firm has a market cap of $599.62 million, a P/E ratio of -0.78 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 32.6% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 53.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 5,079 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 134,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,852,000 after buying an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 22.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 12,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the first quarter worth $1,105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.