Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Price

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $52.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on VNOM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.60.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $46.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of -204.30, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.48. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $34.71 and a 1 year high of $49.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.10.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.04. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 4.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $415.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -660.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 1,672.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 394,067 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,223,000 after acquiring an additional 371,832 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,498 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 10,886.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 8,240 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 8,165 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Company Profile

Viper Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and intends to acquire mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. As a pass-through entity, Viper Energy Partners does not engage in drilling or production operations directly; instead, it generates revenues by holding overriding royalty interests, mineral fee interests and royalty fee interests. These interests entitle the partnership to receive a percentage of the proceeds from hydrocarbons produced and sold by third-party operators.

The partnership’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin, with a primary focus on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.