Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Stock Price Down 6.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Share price dropped ~6.9% to about $17.49 on Wednesday after trading as low as $17.55, following a quarterly earnings and revenue miss (EPS -$0.02 vs. $0.10 est.; revenue $58.62M vs. $67.10M).
• Vitesse declared a quarterly dividend that implies a 10.1% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is an unsustainably high 277.78%, signaling risk to future distributions.
• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average target of $21.67 (one recent downgrade to “strong sell”), while insiders have been net sellers (341,808 shares sold in the last 90 days) and institutions own about 51.6% of the stock.

Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS - Get Free Report) was down 6.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $17.55 and last traded at $17.4850. Approximately 422,300 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 496,601 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VTS shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vitesse Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.67.

Vitesse Energy Stock Down 7.9%

The business's 50 day moving average is $20.14 and its 200-day moving average is $20.78. The stock has a market cap of $688.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.12). Vitesse Energy had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $58.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vitesse Energy, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vitesse Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. Vitesse Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 277.78%.

Insider Activity at Vitesse Energy

In other news, VP Michael Sabol sold 4,497 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.14, for a total value of $90,569.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 64,914 shares in the company, valued at $1,307,367.96. This represents a 6.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mike Morella sold 5,202 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.13, for a total transaction of $104,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,413 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,658,973.69. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 341,808 shares of company stock worth $6,758,540 over the last 90 days. 18.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vitesse Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Vitesse Energy by 12.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 954,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,175,000 after buying an additional 108,742 shares during the last quarter. Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $561,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy in the third quarter valued at about $927,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its position in shares of Vitesse Energy by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 233,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,497,000 after buying an additional 104,990 shares during the last quarter. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vitesse Energy Company Profile

Vitesse Energy NYSE: VTS is an independent exploration and production company primarily focused on onshore oil and gas assets in the United States. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the company identifies, acquires and develops low-decline, shallow to intermediate depth vertical wells, targeting predictable production profiles and stable cash flows. Vitesse leverages a lean operational model to optimize well performance and reduce unit operating costs across its asset base.

The company’s core operations are concentrated in the Arkoma Basin of eastern Oklahoma and the Ark-La-Tex region, where it holds acreage positions in multiple formations.

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