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

Shares of Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $35.17, but opened at $31.66. Vital Energy shares last traded at $30.25, with a volume of 531,377 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VTLE shares. Wolfe Research raised Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Vital Energy from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.90.

Vital Energy Stock Down 15.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 3.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Vital Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $550.90 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Vital Energy by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 14,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Vital Energy by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. 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.