Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Acquired by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,700 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $7,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,031,000 after acquiring an additional 17,782 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $750,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,292,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $701,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Trading Up 6.1 %

VTLE opened at $21.19 on Friday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.85 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.12. The firm has a market cap of $807.59 million, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 3.07. 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $534.37 million during 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $207,300.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $117,601.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 46,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,141.49. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Siebert Williams Shank cut Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James cut their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.46.

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.