Critical Review: Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) & California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ)

California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ) and Vitesse Energy (NYSE:VTS) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.7% of California Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of California Resources shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Vitesse Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Resources	-95.33%	-4.31%	-3.78%
Vitesse Energy	18.05%	7.25%	4.95%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for California Resources and Vitesse Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Vitesse Energy	0	0	2	1	3.33

Vitesse Energy has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.30%. Given Vitesse Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vitesse Energy is more favorable than California Resources.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares California Resources and Vitesse Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California Resources	$2.63 billion	0.00	-$28.00 million	N/A	N/A
Vitesse Energy	$233.90 million	3.29	-$19.74 million	$1.46	17.82

Vitesse Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than California Resources.

Summary

Vitesse Energy beats California Resources on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the State of California. The company sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids to marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. It holds interests in approximately 2.2 million net acres of mineral acreage. As of December 31, 2019, the company had net proved reserves of 644 million barrels of oil equivalent. It also engages in the generation and sale of electricity to the grid and utility customers. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Los Angeles, California. On July 15, 2020, California Resources Corporation, along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

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.