Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) Short Interest Down 24.6% in March

Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,140,000 shares, a decline of 24.6% from the February 28th total of 2,840,000 shares. Currently, 8.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 230,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.3 days.

Vitesse Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTS opened at $24.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $954.34 million, a PE ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.53. Vitesse Energy has a 1 year low of $21.83 and a 1 year high of $28.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Vitesse Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.5625 dividend. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Vitesse Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Vitesse Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 351.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mike Morella sold 8,143 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.69, for a total transaction of $217,336.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 81,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,178,304.35. This represents a 9.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Sabol sold 6,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total value of $179,263.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 63,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,073.70. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vitesse Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTS. Inlet Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Vitesse Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 59,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vitesse Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Vitesse Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Vitesse Energy by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 41,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Vitesse Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 241,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,807,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Vitesse Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Alliance Global Partners raised Vitesse Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Capmk raised Vitesse Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price objective on Vitesse Energy from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

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.