Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading 3.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s stock price traded up 3.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.93 and last traded at $23.08. 82,284 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,054,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VTLE shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James cut their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.54.

Vital Energy Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $842.70 million, a PE ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 3.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.43.

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

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $962,141.49. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $123,841.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. The trade was a 12.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $788,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,031,000 after buying an additional 17,782 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $750,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,611,000 after acquiring an additional 103,583 shares in the last quarter. 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.