Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Sets New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vitesse Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Vitesse Energy in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.67.

Vitesse Energy Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.76. The stock has a market cap of $718.23 million, a P/E ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 0.69.

Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $58.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.10 million. Equities research analysts expect that Vitesse Energy, Inc. will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vitesse Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 Buying and Selling at Vitesse Energy

In other news, CEO Robert W. Gerrity sold 36,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.66, for a total value of $723,193.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 371,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,313,343.06. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian Cree sold 1,440 shares of Vitesse Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.69, for a total value of $28,353.60. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 464,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,140,590.25. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 341,808 shares of company stock worth $6,758,540. 18.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Vitesse Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,062 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. VARCOV Co. purchased a new position in Vitesse Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $822,000. Odyssean LLC bought a new stake in Vitesse Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 90,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

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.