Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price suggests a potential upside of 12.11% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Vital Energy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.17.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.22. The stock had a trading volume of 752,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,307. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $28.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Vital Energy has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $58.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $459.23 million during 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%. Vital Energy's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $61,135.06. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 400.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vital Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 100.0% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 234.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.