Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Price Target Cut to $31.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its target price lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $45.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vital Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an underperform rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated an underperform rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Vital Energy from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Vital Energy stock opened at $26.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $968.92 million, a P/E ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 3.17. Vital Energy has a 1-year low of $26.02 and a 1-year high of $58.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.19 and a 200-day moving average of $45.62.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.42). Vital Energy had a return on equity of 11.58% and a net margin of 13.97%. The company had revenue of $476.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Energy will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CEO M. Jason Pigott purchased 2,500 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $37.85 per share, with a total value of $94,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 169,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,373.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTLE. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Energy by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Energy by 7.3% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 6,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 400.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.