Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Down 11.7% – Time to Sell?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) shares dropped 11.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $13.82 and last traded at $13.85. Approximately 259,501 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,015,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VTLE. Williams Trading set a $27.00 price target on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.08.

Vital Energy Trading Down 14.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $508.92 million, a PE ratio of -2.81 and a beta of 2.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.60 and a 200 day moving average of $28.56.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $534.37 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 97,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy in the 4th quarter worth $39,392,000. Condire Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $19,066,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Vital Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $15,995,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vital Energy by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,214,000 after buying an additional 220,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 338,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,110,000 after buying an additional 187,503 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is 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.