Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 55.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,486 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,979 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Vital Energy worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 805.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 276.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Vital Energy by 247.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vital Energy Price Performance

VTLE stock opened at $16.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.49. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.30 and a 52-week high of $51.71. The company has a market capitalization of $619.23 million, a PE ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 1.53. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.90 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. Analysts predict that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Energy

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of Vital Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. This represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VTLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vital Energy from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Citigroup lowered Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.36.

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.