Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Shares Down 4.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) traded down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $17.75 and last traded at $17.7170. Approximately 50,460 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 507,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Northland Securities raised shares of Vitesse Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $18.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vitesse Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Vitesse Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vitesse Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.25.

Vitesse Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $745.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.62 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.46.

Vitesse Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Vitesse Energy’s payout ratio is -530.30%.

Institutional Trading of Vitesse Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Vitesse Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Vitesse Energy by 25.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 21,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vitesse Energy by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 162,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $928,000. Finally, Norris Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,394,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

Vitesse Energy Company Profile

Vitesse Energy, Inc (NYSE:VTS) is an independent energy company that invests in non-operated working interests and mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than drilling and operating wells itself, the company partners with third-party exploration and production companies, allowing it to participate in production while relying on those operators to manage development and day-to-day operations.

The company’s portfolio is focused primarily on U.S. onshore oil and natural gas assets, including properties in regions such as the Bakken and Three Forks formations in North Dakota and other established producing basins.