Invesco Ltd. Sells 157,166 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 385,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 157,166 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $11,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Vital Energy by 124.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after purchasing an additional 187,503 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,031,000 after buying an additional 17,782 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vital Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 6.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

Vital Energy Stock Down 3.3 %

VTLE stock opened at $14.73 on Tuesday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.30 and a 1-year high of $55.87. The stock has a market cap of $570.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.68 and its 200 day moving average is $27.78.

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

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VTLE. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on shares of Vital Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.08.

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.