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

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price trimmed by Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VTLE. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Vital Energy Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE VTLE opened at $29.45 on Tuesday. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 3.19.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 6.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,306.64. This represents a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares in the company, valued at $879,130.02. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,168 shares of company stock valued at $502,017 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 234.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.