Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Holdings Lessened by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 56.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,664 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 276.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,528. The trade was a 13.13 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTLE opened at $14.15 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. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.64 and a 12 month high of $58.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average is $28.98. The firm has a market cap of $539.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.98 and a beta of 2.82.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. Equities analysts expect that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VTLE shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.08.

Vital Energy 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.