Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $20.55 and last traded at $21.02, with a volume of 151524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.27.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $802.98 million, a PE ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 3.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.62.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.90 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,214,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,466,000 after acquiring an additional 118,367 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,116,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,442,000 after purchasing an additional 62,771 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 14.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,157,000 after buying an additional 9,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $39,392,000. Hedge funds and other 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.