Critical Analysis: Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) & Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD)

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) and Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Vitesse Energy and Chord Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vitesse Energy	0	5	2	0	2.29
Chord Energy	0	3	11	0	2.79

Vitesse Energy currently has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 27.41%. Chord Energy has a consensus target price of $138.31, suggesting a potential upside of 49.20%. Given Chord Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Chord Energy is more favorable than Vitesse Energy.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.8% of Chord Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 18.2% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Chord Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vitesse Energy and Chord Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vitesse Energy	$242.00 million	3.07	$21.06 million	$0.50	38.46
Chord Energy	$5.25 billion	1.00	$848.63 million	$2.60	35.65

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

Risk and Volatility

Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chord Energy has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.7%. Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Vitesse Energy pays out 450.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chord Energy pays out 200.0% 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 has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Chord Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Vitesse Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vitesse Energy	7.70%	5.71%	3.87%
Chord Energy	3.31%	8.27%	5.36%

Summary

Chord Energy beats Vitesse Energy on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Chord Energy

Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.