Contrasting Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE)

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras and Vital Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras	0	1	6	0	2.86
Vital Energy	3	4	4	0	2.09

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras currently has a consensus target price of $17.63, indicating a potential upside of 18.27%. Vital Energy has a consensus target price of $55.82, indicating a potential upside of 66.87%. Given Vital Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vital Energy is more favorable than Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras.

Profitability

This table compares Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras and Vital Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras	16.17%	28.42%	10.53%
Vital Energy	13.97%	11.58%	5.76%

Risk & Volatility

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vital Energy has a beta of 3.22, indicating that its share price is 222% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras and Vital Energy’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras	$99.89 billion	0.97	$24.88 billion	$3.44	4.33
Vital Energy	$1.84 billion	0.67	$695.08 million	$24.13	1.39

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

Summary

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras beats Vital Energy on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras explores, produces, and sells oil and gas in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation and Marketing; and Gas and Power. It also engages in prospecting, drilling, refining, processing, trading, and transporting crude oil from producing onshore and offshore oil fields, and shale or other rocks, as well as oil products, natural gas, and other liquid hydrocarbons. The Exploration and Production segment explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily for supplies to the domestic refineries. The Refining, Transportation and Marketing segment engages in the refining, logistics, transport, marketing, and trading of crude oil and oil products; exportation of ethanol; and extraction and processing of shale, as well as holding interests in petrochemical companies. The Gas and Power segment is involved in the logistic and trading of natural gas and electricity; transportation and trading of LNG; generation of electricity through thermoelectric power plants; holding interests in transportation and distribution of natural gas; and fertilizer production and natural gas processing business. In addition, the company produces biodiesel and its co-products, and ethanol; and distributes oil products. Further, it engages in research, development, production, transport, distribution, and trading of energy. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras was incorporated in 1953 and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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.