Contrasting Shell (NYSE:SHEL) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS)

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

Dividends

Vitesse Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.2%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Vitesse Energy pays out 351.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Shell pays out 57.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vitesse Energy	$242.00 million	3.90	-$19.74 million	$0.64	38.22
Shell	$284.31 billion	0.76	$16.09 billion	$5.02	14.21

Shell has higher revenue and earnings than Vitesse Energy. Shell 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 & Insider Ownership

51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.6% of Shell shares are held by institutional investors. 15.8% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Shell shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vitesse Energy	18.05%	7.25%	4.95%
Shell	5.57%	12.75%	6.01%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Vitesse Energy and Shell, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vitesse Energy	0	1	2	1	3.00
Shell	0	1	9	3	3.15

Vitesse Energy presently has a consensus target price of $29.33, indicating a potential upside of 19.93%. Shell has a consensus target price of $79.48, indicating a potential upside of 11.42%. Given Vitesse Energy’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than Shell.

Volatility & Risk

Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shell has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Shell beats Vitesse Energy on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Shell

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as low-carbon fuels, lubricants, bitumen, sulphur, gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Additionally, it generates electricity through wind and solar resources; produces and sells hydrogen; and provides electric vehicle charging services. The company was formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc and changed its name to Shell plc in January 2022. Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.