KeyCorp Upgrades Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) to “Overweight”

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) from a sector weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $62.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Viper Energy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.57 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.59 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.62 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.39 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.61 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.59 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.43 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.27.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $51.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 1.71. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $30.16 and a 12 month high of $56.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.94.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The business had revenue of $209.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VNOM. State Street Corp grew its position in Viper Energy by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 12.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,085,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $78,282,000 after buying an additional 224,021 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 16.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,647,000 after acquiring an additional 234,048 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 860,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,822,000 after acquiring an additional 160,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Viper Energy by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 841,414 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,578,000 after acquiring an additional 21,420 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.