Contrasting Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) and Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF)

Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Energy and Vital Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Energy	8.62%	2.88%	1.78%
Vital Energy	25.09%	9.05%	4.65%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.9% of Advantage Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Vital Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Vital Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Advantage Energy and Vital Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33
Vital Energy	3	5	3	0	2.00

Advantage Energy currently has a consensus price target of $13.75, indicating a potential upside of 116.98%. Vital Energy has a consensus price target of $47.09, indicating a potential upside of 46.02%. Given Advantage Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Advantage Energy is more favorable than Vital Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Advantage Energy and Vital Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Energy	$400.81 million	2.64	$75.26 million	$0.20	31.69
Vital Energy	$1.55 billion	0.79	$695.08 million	$14.28	2.26

Vital Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Advantage Energy. Vital Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Advantage Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Advantage Energy has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vital Energy has a beta of 3.16, suggesting that its share price is 216% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vital Energy beats Advantage Energy on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advantage Energy

Advantage Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Its assets are located approximately 4 to 80 km northwest of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta. The company was formerly known as Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. and changed its name to Advantage Energy Ltd. in May 2021. Advantage Energy Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Vital Energy

Vital Energy, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the United States. The company was formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc. and changed its name to Vital Energy, Inc. in January 2023. Vital Energy, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.