Mark David Denny Sells 5,974 Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) Stock

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $123,841.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. This trade represents a 12.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vital Energy Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of Vital Energy stock opened at $21.19 on Friday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.85 and a 52-week high of $58.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.70 and a 200 day moving average of $30.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $807.59 million, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 3.07.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $534.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTLE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $32.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Siebert Williams Shank lowered shares of Vital Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.46.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 1,878.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 6,067 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 127,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Vital Energy by 34.7% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 22,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 153.9% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 43,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 26,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.54% of the company’s stock.

About Vital Energy

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.