Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $21.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on VTLE. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Siebert Williams Shank cut Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.09.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VTLE opened at $21.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Vital Energy has a 52-week low of $12.30 and a 52-week high of $47.80. The firm has a market cap of $814.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.22 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.13 and its 200 day moving average is $24.05.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.34% and a negative net margin of 6.37%. The company had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.09 per share, with a total value of $99,495.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,550,231.97. The trade was a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,528. This represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 361.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 38,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 30,433 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Vital Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $502,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 200,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,245,000 after buying an additional 7,134 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Vital Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,701,000. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $470,000. 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.