Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading 3.8% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shot up 3.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.80 and last traded at $30.73. 60,373 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 895,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTLE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 3.19.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $796,538.76. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the second quarter worth about $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 800.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,263,000 after acquiring an additional 481,248 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,945,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 282,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,443,000. Institutional investors own 86.54% 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.