Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Short Interest Down 26.0% in April

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,863,078 shares, a decline of 26.0% from the March 31st total of 10,627,731 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,855,129 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Viper Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Viper Energy stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.50. 300,061 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,927,299. Viper Energy has a 52-week low of $35.10 and a 52-week high of $49.51. The firm has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.27, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. 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’s 50-day moving average is $46.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.30.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $415.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Viper Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -660.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VNOM. Barclays decreased their price target on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $55.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 503.3% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.