Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) Increases Dividend to $0.56 Per Share

Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of 0.5625 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a 7.1% increase from Vitesse Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53.

Vitesse Energy has a payout ratio of 152.2% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Vitesse Energy to earn $1.16 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 181.0%.

Vitesse Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

VTS stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 358,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 188,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.54 million, a P/E ratio of 16.89 and a beta of 0.53. Vitesse Energy has a twelve month low of $21.83 and a twelve month high of $28.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mike Morella sold 8,143 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.69, for a total transaction of $217,336.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Sabol sold 6,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total value of $179,263.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 63,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,693,073.70. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities upped 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. Northland Capmk upgraded Vitesse Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners upgraded Vitesse Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Vitesse Energy Company Profile

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.