Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 130,068 Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 130,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,022,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.34% of Vital Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Vital Energy by 14.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,031,000 after buying an additional 17,782 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,611,000 after acquiring an additional 103,583 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Vital Energy by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock worth $9,110,000 after acquiring an additional 187,503 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $117,601.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,141.49. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Trading Down 2.5 %

VTLE traded down $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.57. 754,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 968,809. 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 50 day simple moving average of $28.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.43. The firm has a market cap of $822.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 3.07. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $39.54.

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.