Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $4.05 Million Holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,842 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $4,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vital Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 276.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 247.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vital Energy by 2,590.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Trading Down 10.8 %

Shares of VTLE stock opened at $23.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $908.04 million, a P/E ratio of -5.01 and a beta of 3.12. Vital Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.48 and a twelve month high of $58.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.03.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, sell-side analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Vital Energy from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.70.

Vital Energy Company Profile

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.