Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Given New $32.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) had its price target lifted by Piper Sandler from $27.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Vital Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Vital Energy from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.90.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VTLE opened at $31.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $25.85 and a fifty-two week high of $58.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 3.16.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $459.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Vital Energy by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,755,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,214,000 after purchasing an additional 220,871 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,031,000 after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Energy by 6.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,507,000 after buying an additional 35,133 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Vital Energy by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 428,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,243,000 after buying an additional 132,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vital Energy by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,795,000 after buying an additional 90,523 shares during the last quarter. 86.54% of the stock is owned by 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.