Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Cut to $29.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $41.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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 price objective 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. Bank of America reissued an underperform rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Friday, June 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Vital Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an underperform rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $48.17.

Vital Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $30.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.66 and a 200-day moving average of $43.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $25.94 and a 1-year high of $58.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.76 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 11.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO M. Jason Pigott bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.85 per share, for a total transaction of $94,625.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 169,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,411,373.65. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,833,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after purchasing an additional 17,054 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after acquiring an additional 282,574 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,690,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 800.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,263,000 after acquiring an additional 481,248 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Vital Energy by 18.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 303,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,593,000 after buying an additional 46,248 shares during the last quarter. 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.