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

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 18,169,294 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the January 29th total of 13,449,119 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,391,808 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,391,808 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Viper Energy from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, 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. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.80.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock traded up $0.82 on Monday, reaching $47.36. 452,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,593,676. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a current ratio of 3.72. The firm has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of -205.96 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.69 and its 200-day moving average is $38.97. Viper Energy has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $48.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 4.87%.The firm had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $415.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -573.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 38.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 47,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 13,218 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 264.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 240,799 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,872,000 after buying an additional 174,684 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Viper Energy by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 204,499 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $9,233,000 after acquiring an additional 37,847 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 47,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 28.3% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 359,930 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,724,000 after purchasing an additional 79,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

About Viper Energy

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.