Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s share price was down 4.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $28.27 and last traded at $28.31. Approximately 363,309 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 918,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.83.

Vital Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $972.22 million, a PE ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 3.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.42). The company had revenue of $476.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.76 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 13.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,306.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,306.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares in the company, valued at $796,538.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy by 29.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 207,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,913,000 after buying an additional 47,100 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Vital Energy by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 52,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 19,165 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,250,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Vital Energy by 19.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after purchasing an additional 282,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $24,263,000 after purchasing an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

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.