Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) versus Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Head to Head Analysis

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) and Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vital Energy and Woodside Energy Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vital Energy	$1.84 billion	0.73	$695.08 million	$24.13	1.51
Woodside Energy Group	$13.99 billion	1.24	$1.66 billion	N/A	N/A

Woodside Energy Group has higher revenue and earnings than Vital Energy.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Vital Energy and Woodside Energy Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vital Energy	3	4	4	0	2.09
Woodside Energy Group	1	2	0	1	2.25

Vital Energy presently has a consensus price target of $55.82, suggesting a potential upside of 52.97%. Given Vital Energy’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Vital Energy is more favorable than Woodside Energy Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.5% of Vital Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of Woodside Energy Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Vital Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Woodside Energy Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Vital Energy has a beta of 3.22, meaning that its stock price is 222% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Woodside Energy Group has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vital Energy	30.34%	14.22%	6.69%
Woodside Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Vital Energy beats Woodside Energy Group on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Woodside Energy Group

Woodside Energy Group Ltd engages in the exploration, evaluation, development, production, and marketing of hydrocarbons in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and the Europe. The company produces liquefied natural gas, pipeline gas, crude oil and condensate, and natural gas liquids. It holds interests in the Pluto LNG, North West Shelf, Wheatstone and Julimar-Brunello, Bass Strait, Ngujima-Yin FPSO, Okha FPSO, Pyrenees FPSO, Macedon, Shenzi, Mad dog, Greater Angostura, as well as Scarborough, Sangomar, Trion, Calypso, Browse, Liard, Atlantis, Woodside Solar opportunity, and Sunrise and Troubadour. The company involves in development of new energy products and carbon services. The company was formerly known as Woodside Petroleum Ltd and changed its name to Woodside Energy Group Ltd in May 2022. Woodside Energy Group Ltd was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.