Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Short Interest Update

Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,480,000 shares, a growth of 68.9% from the March 15th total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 996,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VNOM. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Viper Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Viper Energy from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Viper Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the first quarter worth $56,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $40.80 on Friday. Viper Energy has a 52 week low of $24.48 and a 52 week high of $40.83. The company has a quick ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.13. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 1.79.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.20. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 24.17%. The business had revenue of $204.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Viper Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. This is an increase from Viper Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.09. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.