Analyzing Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) and Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD)

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Chord Energy has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.6%. Chord Energy pays out 200.0% 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 450.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chord Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Vitesse Energy has raised 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 current recommendations for Chord Energy and Vitesse Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chord Energy	0	3	11	0	2.79
Vitesse Energy	0	5	2	0	2.29

Chord Energy presently has a consensus price target of $138.31, indicating a potential upside of 49.47%. Vitesse Energy has a consensus price target of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.98%. Given Chord Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Chord Energy is more favorable than Vitesse Energy.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chord Energy	3.31%	8.27%	5.36%
Vitesse Energy	7.70%	5.71%	3.87%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chord Energy and Vitesse Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chord Energy	$5.25 billion	1.00	$848.63 million	$2.60	35.59
Vitesse Energy	$242.00 million	3.11	$21.06 million	$0.50	38.90

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of Chord Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Chord Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Chord Energy beats Vitesse Energy on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chord Energy

Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 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.