ClearAlpha Technologies LP Raises Stake in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE)

ClearAlpha Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the quarter. ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s holdings in Vital Energy were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy in the second quarter worth $4,250,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Vital Energy by 96.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 145,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 71,385 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Vital Energy by 19.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,227,000 after purchasing an additional 282,574 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 52.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 22,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 800.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 541,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,263,000 after buying an additional 481,248 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTLE opened at $32.83 on Monday. Vital Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.85 and a 12-month high of $58.30. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 3.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.58 million. Vital Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 9.05%. Vital Energy’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 6.9 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Kathryn Anne Hill sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.22, for a total transaction of $61,135.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 29,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,130.02. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $285,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 77,516 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,306.64. The trade was a 11.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,168 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTLE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. KeyCorp cut shares of Vital Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $66.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.09.

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.