Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Buys 54,800 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) by 48.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,800 shares during the quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.44% of Vital Energy worth $5,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 276.9% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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 valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. The trade was a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VTLE. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Vital Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 919,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,085. The company has a market capitalization of $623.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $55.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.17 and a 200-day moving average of $27.38.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $534.37 million during 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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.