Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Cut to $23.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 45.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.00.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.77. 669,262 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,033,467. The company has a market capitalization of $610.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $55.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.78.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,528. This represents a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. This trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,110,000 after buying an additional 187,503 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vital Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 6.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 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.