Raymond James Lowers Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $30.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Raymond James from $44.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 43.59% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.17.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.89. The stock had a trading volume of 518,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,519. Vital Energy has a one year low of $20.58 and a one year high of $58.30. The firm has a market cap of $796.46 million, a PE ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 3.07. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 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.