Comparing Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) and SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.8% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

SandRidge Energy has a beta of 2.08, meaning that its share price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for SandRidge Energy and Vitesse Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SandRidge Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A
Vitesse Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00

Vitesse Energy has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.52%. Given Vitesse Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than SandRidge Energy.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SandRidge Energy	31.47%	9.88%	7.97%
Vitesse Energy	10.78%	7.94%	5.57%

Dividends

SandRidge Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.3%. SandRidge Energy pays out 40.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vitesse Energy pays out 238.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SandRidge Energy	$148.64 million	2.95	$60.86 million	$1.09	10.83
Vitesse Energy	$233.90 million	3.19	-$19.74 million	$0.88	28.82

SandRidge Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vitesse Energy. SandRidge 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.

Summary

SandRidge Energy beats Vitesse Energy on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SandRidge Energy

SandRidge Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States Mid-Continent. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

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.