Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vitesse Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.50.

Vitesse Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VTS stock opened at $19.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $787.84 million, a PE ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.39 and a 200-day moving average of $21.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Vitesse Energy has a one year low of $17.44 and a one year high of $27.15.

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $58.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.10 million. Vitesse Energy had a return on equity of 4.38% and a net margin of 9.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vitesse Energy will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Vitesse Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.8%. Vitesse Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 357.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Vitesse Energy news, President Brian Cree sold 43,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.12, for a total transaction of $869,505.92. Following the sale, the president directly owned 519,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,455,941.48. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Gerrity sold 90,737 shares of Vitesse Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.14, for a total transaction of $1,827,443.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 514,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,365,917.02. The trade was a 14.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 341,808 shares of company stock worth $6,758,540 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vitesse Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Vitesse Energy by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,438,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,706,000 after acquiring an additional 165,534 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Vitesse Energy by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,420,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,363,000 after purchasing an additional 69,477 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,015,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,568,000 after purchasing an additional 32,790 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 954,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,175,000 after purchasing an additional 108,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vitesse Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 702,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,536,000 after purchasing an additional 3,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

About Vitesse Energy

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.