Head to Head Analysis: Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) vs. Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE)

Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dorchester Minerals	$163.80 million	7.75	$110.39 million	$2.57	12.33
Vital Energy	$1.55 billion	1.03	$695.08 million	$24.13	1.81

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dorchester Minerals	66.57%	59.35%	57.08%
Vital Energy	30.34%	14.22%	6.69%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.2% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.5% of Vital Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Vital Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Dorchester Minerals has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Dorchester Minerals and Vital Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dorchester Minerals	0	0	0	0	N/A
Vital Energy	2	3	5	0	2.30

Vital Energy has a consensus price target of $59.30, indicating a potential upside of 35.82%. Given Vital Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vital Energy is more favorable than Dorchester Minerals.

Summary

Vital Energy beats Dorchester Minerals on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dorchester Minerals

Dorchester Minerals, L.P. engages in the acquisition, ownership, and administration of royalty properties in the United States. Its royalty properties include producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in 593 counties and parishes in 28 states; and net profits interests represent net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management LP serves as the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

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.