Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target trimmed by Piper Sandler from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reduced 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. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.92.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTLE opened at $15.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.70. The company has a market cap of $599.84 million, a PE ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 2.82. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $12.30 and a twelve month high of $55.87.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. On average, analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $117,601.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This represents a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $750,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,292,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Energy by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,611,000 after purchasing an additional 103,583 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently 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.