Brokerages Set Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target at $46.00

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several research firms have commented on VTLE. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $29.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 3.19. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $796,538.76. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 12.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 73,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,435 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 4.1% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Vital Energy in the second quarter valued at about $1,110,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Vital Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 243,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,921,000 after purchasing an additional 18,950 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.