Head to Head Comparison: Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) & Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO)

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vitesse Energy	0	4	2	0	2.33
Talos Energy	1	2	3	0	2.33

Vitesse Energy presently has a consensus price target of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 26.89%. Talos Energy has a consensus price target of $13.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.34%. Given Vitesse Energy’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than Talos Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vitesse Energy and Talos Energy”s gross 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	3.09	$21.06 million	$0.50	38.62
Talos Energy	$1.78 billion	1.16	-$76.39 million	($2.84)	-4.31

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

Volatility & Risk

Vitesse Energy has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talos Energy has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vitesse Energy	7.70%	5.71%	3.87%
Talos Energy	-27.77%	-6.59%	-2.77%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of Talos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of Vitesse Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talos Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vitesse Energy beats Talos Energy on 10 of the 13 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 Talos Energy

Talos Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Mexico. It also engages in the development of carbon capture and sequestration. Talos Energy Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.