Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 192.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,863 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,681 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.16% of Vital Energy worth $1,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,151 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,649 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 239,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,393,000 after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 81.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vital Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction 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 $962,141.49. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VTLE shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.81. 989,349 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,791. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $27.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $793.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.38 and a beta of 3.07.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 analysts' expectations of $550.90 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.