JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $23.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on VTLE. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Siebert Williams Shank downgraded shares of Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price objective on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.46.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock opened at $21.19 on Thursday. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $19.85 and a fifty-two week high of $58.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $807.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 3.07.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 5,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $117,601.29. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,141.49. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $39,392,000. Condire Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $15,995,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 14.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,214,000 after buying an additional 220,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,110,000 after buying an additional 187,503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.