Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $52.33, but opened at $50.62. Viper Energy shares last traded at $51.25, with a volume of 113,908 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VNOM. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price target on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average of $42.43. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a quick ratio of 7.06, a current ratio of 7.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.28 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 25.63% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is 41.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VNOM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 23.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,481,119 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $326,184,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,333 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake 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 worth $246,566,000 after purchasing an additional 923,276 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,001,411 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $115,434,000 after purchasing an additional 496,131 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,085,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $78,282,000 after buying an additional 224,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. grew its position in Viper Energy by 48.8% during the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 1,934,469 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $73,703,000 after buying an additional 634,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

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.