Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,380,000 shares, an increase of 49.7% from the May 31st total of 1,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 776,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 224,876 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 23,393 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 7,400.5% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 15,689 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 11,811 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Adalta Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VNOM. TD Securities increased their price target on Viper Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.29.

Viper Energy Price Performance

VNOM stock opened at $37.53 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.60 and a 200-day moving average of $35.54. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Viper Energy has a 12-month low of $24.91 and a 12-month high of $41.22.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.15. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 24.24%. The company had revenue of $205.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.63 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Viper Energy will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.56. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

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.