Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Cut to “Underperform” at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial cut shares of Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) from an outperform rating to an underperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.09.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of VTLE opened at $17.57 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.61 and a 200-day moving average of $23.67. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $12.30 and a 1 year high of $47.80. The company has a market capitalization of $681.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.20 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 6.37% and a positive return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,495.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 251,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,550,231.97. This trade represents a 2.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 130,842 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 3,571 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $788,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 504,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,611,000 after acquiring an additional 103,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by 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.