Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $17.22 and last traded at $18.0550, with a volume of 1296360 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vitesse Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.67.

Vitesse Energy Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $718.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.12). Vitesse Energy had a return on equity of 4.38% and a net margin of 9.23%.The company had revenue of $58.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.10 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vitesse Energy, Inc. will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vitesse Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.4375 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Vitesse Energy’s payout ratio is presently 277.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mike Morella sold 5,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.13, for a total transaction of $104,716.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 82,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,658,973.69. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Gerrity sold 36,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.66, for a total transaction of $723,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 371,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,313,343.06. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 341,808 shares of company stock worth $6,758,540. Insiders own 18.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vitesse Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Vitesse Energy by 141.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 30,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 18,062 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vitesse Energy by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. VARCOV Co. bought a new position in shares of Vitesse Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $822,000. Odyssean LLC bought a new position in shares of Vitesse Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vitesse Energy by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 294,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,675,000 after purchasing an additional 90,307 shares in the last quarter. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.