Contrasting Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) & Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS)

Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

Mach Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.6%. Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.9%. Mach Natural Resources pays out 78.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vitesse Energy pays out 212.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mach Natural Resources has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Vitesse Energy has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Mach Natural Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Mach Natural Resources has a beta of -0.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mach Natural Resources and Vitesse Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mach Natural Resources	$1.01 billion	1.69	$185.18 million	$1.94	7.42
Vitesse Energy	$242.00 million	4.03	$21.06 million	$1.06	23.84

Mach Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Vitesse Energy. Mach Natural Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vitesse Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.4% of Mach Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 87.8% of Mach Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mach Natural Resources and Vitesse Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mach Natural Resources	20.83%	23.23%	13.02%
Vitesse Energy	15.12%	7.25%	4.85%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Mach Natural Resources and Vitesse Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mach Natural Resources	0	0	2	1	3.33
Vitesse Energy	0	3	2	1	2.67

Mach Natural Resources currently has a consensus price target of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 59.80%. Vitesse Energy has a consensus price target of $26.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.87%. Given Mach Natural Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Mach Natural Resources is more favorable than Vitesse Energy.

Summary

Mach Natural Resources beats Vitesse Energy on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mach Natural Resources

Mach Natural Resources LP, an independent upstream oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the Anadarko Basin region of Western Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, and the panhandle of Texas. It also owns a portfolio of midstream assets, as well as owns plants and water infrastructure. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About Vitesse Energy

Vitesse Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of non-operated oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It owns and acquires non-operated working interest and royalty interest ownership in the Williston Basin properties located in North Dakota and Montana. The company also owns non-operated interests in the Central Rockies properties located in Colorado and Wyoming. Vitesse Energy, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Centennial, Colorado.