Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Trading Down 4.5% – Here’s Why

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares dropped 4.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $32.21 and last traded at $31.96. Approximately 25,824 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 733,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VTLE shares. Mizuho raised 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two 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 target price of $45.90.

Vital Energy Trading Down 4.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.75.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,507,000 after purchasing an additional 35,133 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 428,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,243,000 after purchasing an additional 132,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 29.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,795,000 after buying an additional 90,523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.