Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Here’s Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s stock price dropped 4.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $31.44 and last traded at $31.62. Approximately 86,280 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 901,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTLE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.09.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 3.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 234.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 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.