Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VTLE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VTLE opened at $32.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 3.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $58.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value 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 $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the third quarter worth $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 234.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Vital Energy by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.