Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Stake Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,271 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $3,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTLE. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vital Energy by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 19.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after buying an additional 282,574 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $64,690,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,031,000 after buying an additional 17,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,507,000 after buying an additional 35,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 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 value of $155,481.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $879,130.02. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VTLE opened at $32.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 3.19. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $58.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.99.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTLE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy 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.