Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Upgraded at Wolfe Research

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) was upgraded by Wolfe Research from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Vital Energy Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE VTLE opened at $32.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 3.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.27 and a 200-day moving average of $33.93. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related 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 in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $796,538.76. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTLE. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 0.9% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 4.6% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 124.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after acquiring an additional 187,503 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.