Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.13 and last traded at $49.97, with a volume of 2698764 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.95.

Trending Headlines about Viper Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Viper Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on revenue and EPS — Viper posted $0.55 EPS vs. $0.45 consensus and $511M revenue vs. ~$500M expected; revenue was up ~108.6% year?over?year, which supports near?term cash flow and distribution coverage. Q1 Results Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced — Viper declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend (ex?dividend May 14; pay May 21), implying ~3.0% yield, which supports income investors and can underpin valuation relative to peers.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary / earnings call available — Transcript coverage provides detail on production, royalty receipts, commodity exposure and capital structure; useful for investors wanting specifics on drivers behind the beat and sustainability of cash flows. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/commodity sensitivity — Analysis notes an “Iran?driven” oil price shock is a double?edged sword: higher oil helps royalty revenue now but increases volatility and geopolitical risk that could affect longer?term cash flow visibility. This is a mixed factor for shares. Iran-Driven Oil Shock Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and valuation concerns — Despite the beat, Viper reported a negative net margin (~?4.9%) and persistent odd valuation metrics (reported negative P/E in background data), which may prompt profit?taking or caution among growth/value investors and help explain downward pressure on the stock. Key Metrics vs Estimates

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $55.53.

Viper Energy Stock Down 1.9%

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 company has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -156.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.52.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $499.82 million. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.67% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.Viper Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 108.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -660.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 13,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,348 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 37,746 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 359 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.