Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 5% – Should You Sell?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s share price traded down 5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $33.46 and last traded at $34.14. 163,290 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 774,174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.36.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 3.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.11.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $459.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. Vital Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 276.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 247.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Vital Energy by 2,590.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. 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.