LPL Financial LLC Boosts Position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 679.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,298 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,706 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.24% of Vital Energy worth $2,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 220,871 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 103,583 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 497,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,381,000 after acquiring an additional 52,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 428,295 shares of the company's stock worth $13,243,000 after acquiring an additional 132,924 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Vital Energy stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $14.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 180,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,439. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $548.64 million, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 2.82. Vital Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $55.87.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VTLE shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. Insiders own 1.20% 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.