Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 9,246 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,601 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,246 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $4,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VTLE. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the second quarter worth about $4,250,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after buying an additional 71,385 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,227,000 after buying an additional 282,574 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 52.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after buying an additional 22,711 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 800.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after acquiring an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE VTLE opened at $30.91 on Monday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $58.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.43 and a 200 day moving average of $37.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $41.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.83.

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.