Vital Energy Q1 EPS Decreased by Capital One Financial

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) – Analysts at Capital One Financial reduced their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Vital Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, August 27th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now expects that the company will earn $1.51 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.54. The consensus estimate for Vital Energy’s current full-year earnings is $8.49 per share. Capital One Financial also issued estimates for Vital Energy’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.34 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.27 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $4.82 EPS.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.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 earned $1.46 earnings per share. Vital Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VTLE. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vital Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $28.20.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE VTLE opened at $17.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $693.31 million, a P/E ratio of -0.91 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Vital Energy has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $37.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Quarry LP bought a new position in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $123,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 146.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total transaction of $4,562,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,618,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% 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.