PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG) vs. Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) Head to Head Comparison

PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for PrimeEnergy and Vitesse Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PrimeEnergy	0	1	0	0	2.00
Vitesse Energy	0	5	2	0	2.29

Vitesse Energy has a consensus target price of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.83%. Given Vitesse Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than PrimeEnergy.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PrimeEnergy	16.54%	17.98%	10.86%
Vitesse Energy	7.70%	5.71%	3.87%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PrimeEnergy and Vitesse Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PrimeEnergy	$196.05 million	1.51	$55.40 million	$10.45	17.28
Vitesse Energy	$242.00 million	3.35	$21.06 million	$0.50	41.94

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

Volatility and Risk

PrimeEnergy has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 62.8% of PrimeEnergy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vitesse Energy beats PrimeEnergy on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PrimeEnergy

PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company owns leasehold, mineral, and royalty interests in producing and non-producing oil and gas properties; and operates approximately 534 active wells and owns non-operating interests and royalties in 952 additional wells. It also acquires producing oil and gas properties through joint ventures with industry partners; and provides contract services to third parties, including well-servicing support, site-preparation, and construction services for oil and gas drilling and reworking operations. The company was formerly known as PrimeEnergy Corporation and changed its name to PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation in December 2018. PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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.