Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.45.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VTLE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.85 per share, with a total value of $94,625.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,411,373.65. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vital Energy by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,833,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,348,000 after buying an additional 17,054 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after purchasing an additional 282,574 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 800.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 303,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,593,000 after purchasing an additional 46,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $27.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 3.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. Vital Energy has a 52 week low of $26.02 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.47.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.42). Vital Energy had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The business had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.76 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 6.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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.