Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 16.6% – What’s Next?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) fell 16.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $17.34 and last traded at $17.35. 814,209 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 974,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.08.

Vital Energy Stock Down 19.1 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $641.46 million, a P/E ratio of -3.54 and a beta of 3.07.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $207,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VTLE. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,392,000. Condire Management LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,995,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 14.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Company Profile

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.