Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $33.00 to $27.00. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Vital Energy traded as low as $19.76 and last traded at $20.16, with a volume of 71908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.10.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 a consensus target price of $38.08.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,900.62. This trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,141.49. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,031,000 after buying an additional 17,782 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $750,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,292,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,611,000 after acquiring an additional 103,583 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vital Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $770.96 million, a PE ratio of -4.26 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.35.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

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.