Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price Down 5.3% – What’s Next?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) traded down 5.3% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $15.51 and last traded at $15.54. 293,706 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,082,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTLE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.36.

Vital Energy Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.99. The company has a market capitalization of $588.54 million, a P/E ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 1.53.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Vital Energy’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,550,231.97. This represents a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Vital Energy by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in Vital Energy by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 12,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 276.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.