Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $27.00. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Vital Energy traded as low as $19.76 and last traded at $20.16, with a volume of 71908 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.10.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VTLE. Mizuho boosted their price target on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.08.

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Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares in the company, valued at $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,022,335.88. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,392,000. Condire Management LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $15,995,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Stock Down 17.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business's 50 day moving average price is $26.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.10. The firm has a market cap of $531.22 million, a PE ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 3.07.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. On average, equities research 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.