MQS Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,833,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after buying an additional 17,054 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 801,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,445,000 after purchasing an additional 71,166 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 29.3% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 207,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,913,000 after purchasing an additional 47,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 198,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,042,000 after purchasing an additional 64,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 180,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,217,000 after buying an additional 69,398 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VTLE. Mizuho increased their price objective on Vital Energy from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $75.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vital Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.27.

Vital Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.14. 684,442 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 801,401. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.00 and a 1-year high of $62.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 3.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.72.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.13. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 30.34%. The company had revenue of $482.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.97 million. Analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.