Critical Survey: Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) and CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL)

CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

CrossAmerica Partners has a beta of 0.3, suggesting that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.1% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 52.0% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.9% of Vitesse Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

CrossAmerica Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.2%. Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.5%. CrossAmerica Partners pays out 153.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vitesse Energy pays out -530.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vitesse Energy has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Vitesse Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for CrossAmerica Partners and Vitesse Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CrossAmerica Partners	0	1	0	1	3.00
Vitesse Energy	1	2	2	0	2.20

Vitesse Energy has a consensus price target of $19.25, indicating a potential upside of 4.17%. Given Vitesse Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than CrossAmerica Partners.

Profitability

This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and Vitesse Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CrossAmerica Partners	1.43%	-37.73%	3.92%
Vitesse Energy	-3.95%	-0.02%	-0.02%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and Vitesse Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CrossAmerica Partners	$3.66 billion	0.24	$39.11 million	$1.37	16.74
Vitesse Energy	$273.99 million	2.84	$25.28 million	($0.33)	-56.00

CrossAmerica Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Vitesse Energy. Vitesse Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CrossAmerica Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About CrossAmerica Partners

CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites. The Retail segment is involved in the sale of convenience merchandise items; and retail sale of motor fuels at company operated retail sites and retail sites operated by commission agents. CrossAmerica GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP and changed its name to CrossAmerica Partners LP in October 2014. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Vitesse Energy

Vitesse Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of non-operated oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It owns and acquires non-operated working interest and royalty interest ownership in the Williston Basin properties located in North Dakota and Montana. The company also owns non-operated interests in the Central Rockies properties located in Colorado and Wyoming. Vitesse Energy, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is based in Centennial, Colorado.