JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target to $44.00

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

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on VNOM. TD Securities upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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 upped their price objective 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, Barclays upped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $47.43.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM opened at $50.22 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.00. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $26.87 and a 12 month high of $50.37.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly 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. Viper Energy had a net margin of 25.63% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Viper Energy by 1,045.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,877,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $215,825,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277,324 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,490,896 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $423,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,219 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,808,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,505,280 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197,567 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,410,968 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $246,566,000 after acquiring an additional 923,276 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.