Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $27.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential downside of 4.82% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $45.90.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.62. The stock had a trading volume of 483,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,421. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $32.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.74.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $461.58 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. Vital Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 276.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 247.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.