Piper Sandler Lowers Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $35.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $37.00 to $35.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.11% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $45.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on Vital Energy from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $41.00 to $29.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.17.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $31.22 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 3.16. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $25.85 and a 1 year high of $58.30.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total value of $155,481.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $796,538.76. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTLE. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Energy by 234.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently 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.