Raymond James & Associates Purchases 71,385 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 96.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,167 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,385 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.40% of Vital Energy worth $3,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the first quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Vital Energy by 14.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $879,130.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 2,500 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 169,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,373.65. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VTLE shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Vital Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.83.

Vital Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of VTLE traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.49. The stock had a trading volume of 942,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,456. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.50. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.76 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vital Energy 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.