Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $15.24, but opened at $14.75. Vital Energy shares last traded at $14.81, with a volume of 129,677 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VTLE shares. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on 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 issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Vital Energy Trading Down 4.9 %

The company has a market cap of $560.79 million, a P/E ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 2.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 43,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,214,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,466,000 after purchasing an additional 118,367 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,116,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,442,000 after acquiring an additional 62,771 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,395,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,157,000 after acquiring an additional 9,676 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,392,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 637,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,852 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.