Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Short Interest Up 145.7% in September

Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,820,000 shares, a growth of 145.7% from the September 15th total of 3,590,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM traded up $1.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.25. The stock had a trading volume of 558,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,334. The company has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.73. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $27.61 and a 1 year high of $52.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.37. The company has a current ratio of 7.06, a quick ratio of 7.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 25.63%. The firm had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. Viper Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNOM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised 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. TD Securities upped their price target on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Cypress Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $392,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $362,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 208.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,663,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Viper Energy by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,230 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.