Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 4.5% - Here's Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $32.21 and last traded at $31.96. 25,824 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 733,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTLE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Vital Energy from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.90.

Vital Energy Trading Up 6.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 3.12.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vital Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,945,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,110,000 after buying an additional 187,503 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,302 shares of the company's stock worth $10,795,000 after acquiring an additional 90,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 96.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 71,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Company 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.