Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday after KeyCorp downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating. The stock traded as low as $36.34 and last traded at $36.99, with a volume of 87485 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.17.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VTLE. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $37.85 per share, for a total transaction of $94,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,411,373.65. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 42.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the second quarter valued at about $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 3.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $476.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.76 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 14.22% and a net margin of 30.34%. The business’s revenue was up 42.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.