Truist Financial Trims Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Target Price to $48.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target reduced by Truist Financial from $66.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 75.44% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on VTLE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Vital Energy from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Vital Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $52.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.91.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE opened at $27.36 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 3.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.79. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.94 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.42). The firm had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.76 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 13.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 2,500 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $37.85 per share, with a total value of $94,625.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake 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 worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $147,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. 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.