Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: VNOM) experienced a notable decline in its stock price, falling by 5.8% during trading on Monday. The shares traded as low as $36.36 before closing at $36.54. A total of 827,562 shares exchanged hands, which represents a significant 32% decrease from the average daily trading volume of 1,210,757 shares. The stock had closed at $38.78 in the previous session.
Analysts’ Ratings and Price Targets Adjusted
Viper Energy has recently been the focus of multiple research reports that suggest varying trajectories for its stock. On December 12, Mizuho raised its price target for Viper Energy from $51.00 to $52.00, assigning an “outperform” rating to the company. In contrast, Morgan Stanley revised its price target downward from $46.00 to $45.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating.
TD Securities set a target price of $54.00 in a report issued on September 30, and Wells Fargo & Company increased its target from $49.00 to $51.00 on November 17. Jefferies Financial Group also initiated coverage on Viper Energy, issuing a “hold” rating with a target price of $38.00. Currently, fourteen analysts rate the stock as a buy and two as a hold, leading to an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.20, according to MarketBeat.com.
Strong Earnings Report and Dividend Announcement
Viper Energy recently released its earnings results for the third quarter on November 3, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40. This figure surpasses analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.02. The company achieved a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 20.62%. Revenue for the quarter was $418.00 million, exceeding expectations of $389.35 million and reflecting a substantial 98.1% increase from the same quarter last year, when it reported an EPS of $0.49.
Additionally, Viper Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, which was paid on November 20 to shareholders of record as of November 13. This dividend translates to an annualized payout of $1.32, yielding 3.6%. The company’s dividend payout ratio stands at 54.55%.
Institutional Investor Activity
Institutional investors have shown varying interest in Viper Energy in recent months. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in the company by 28.0% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 3,699,141 shares, bringing its total holdings to 16,906,846 shares valued at approximately $646.18 million. Capital World Investors also enhanced its stake by 18.7%, now owning 12,423,354 shares worth around $474.82 million.
Oaktree Capital Management LP entered a new position valued at $240.22 million, while State Street Corp raised its stake by 2.9%, now holding 5,197,538 shares valued at approximately $198.18 million. Geode Capital Management LLC also increased its position by 6.6%, owning 3,802,730 shares worth around $145.02 million. Notably, institutional investors hold 87.72% of the company’s stock.
Viper Energy Partners LP focuses on acquiring mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties, primarily in the Permian Basin, with a special emphasis on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. As a publicly traded master limited partnership, Viper Energy generates revenue through its interests without directly engaging in drilling or production operations.
