Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading Up 3.8% - What's Next?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 3.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $30.80 and last traded at $30.73. Approximately 60,373 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 895,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VTLE. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Up 4.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 3.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $29.96 and its 200 day moving average is $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Vital Energy by 800.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company's stock worth $24,263,000 after buying an additional 481,248 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vital Energy during the third quarter worth about $7,945,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company's stock worth $77,227,000 after buying an additional 282,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomist Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,443,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.