Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Cut to $27.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price objective dropped by Bank of America from $33.00 to $27.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 29.75% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Siebert Williams Shank cut Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $20.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $793.30 million, a PE ratio of -4.38 and a beta of 3.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.26 and a 200 day moving average of $29.29. Vital Energy has a 52 week low of $19.76 and a 52 week high of $58.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In related news, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $123,841.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,900.62. This trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTLE. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vital Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 29.1% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Vital Energy by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 831.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 14,275 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 311,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,369,000 after buying an additional 57,810 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.