Piper Sandler Lowers Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target to $16.00

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $23.00 to $16.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 11.94% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.36.

Vital Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VTLE opened at $18.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.22 million, a P/E ratio of -3.83 and a beta of 1.53. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $12.30 and a 1-year high of $51.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. Vital Energy’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,556 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell purchased 5,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. The trade was a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 805.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 276.9% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 247.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.