Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.43.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $50.22 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.03. Viper Energy has a 52 week low of $26.87 and a 52 week high of $50.37. The company has a current ratio of 7.06, a quick ratio of 7.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.73.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.28 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 25.63% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 159,277 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,126,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $40,808,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 458.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,032 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 62,411 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 118.6% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 66,516 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 36,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 81.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 45,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 20,396 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, North America. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Viper Energy Partners LP and changed its name to Viper Energy, Inc in November 2023.