Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on VTLE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, December 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

Vital Energy stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.76. 791,391 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 788,046. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.06. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 3.19.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Vital Energy's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 77,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $879,130.02. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,424,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 6.4% during 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 increased its position in Vital Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 2.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 187,503 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.