Piper Sandler Lowers Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $27.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) had its target price cut by Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $27.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

Vital Energy stock traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.45. 1,018,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,421. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 3.19. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.31. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.85 and a fifty-two week high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $796,538.76. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Vital Energy by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock worth $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 137,246 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 59,942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

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.