Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) fell 4.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $20.07 and last traded at $19.89. 159,420 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,104,444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VTLE shares. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.09.

Vital Energy Stock Down 6.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.78. The firm has a market cap of $754.97 million, a P/E ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 1.59.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 6.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares in the company, valued at $4,550,231.97. The trade was a 2.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Vital Energy by 805.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $124,000. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.