Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s share price traded up 3.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.93 and last traded at $23.08. 82,284 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,054,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.54.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $842.70 million, a P/E ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 3.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.43.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $123,841.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares in the company, valued at $880,900.62. This trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the company’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 $117,601.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 26,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,392,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 154.5% in the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 23,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,214,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,466,000 after purchasing an additional 118,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.