Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Stock Price Down 4.5% – Time to Sell?

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)’s share price traded down 4.5% on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.34 and last traded at $17.51. 141,902 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,340,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial downgraded Vital Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Vital Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vital Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $666.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.The company had revenue of $429.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 250,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.25, for a total value of $4,562,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,618,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,045,527.25. This represents a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vital Energy by 58.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the second quarter valued at $58,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Vital Energy by 30.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 146.8% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787 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.