KeyCorp Upgrades Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) to Overweight

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) was upgraded by investment analysts at KeyCorp from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $62.00 target price on the oil and gas producer’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.12% from the stock’s previous close. 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.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VNOM. TD Securities raised 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. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.27.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

VNOM stock opened at $51.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.89. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Viper Energy has a 12-month low of $30.16 and a 12-month high of $56.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 1.71.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $209.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viper Energy will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $18,044,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the third quarter worth $12,980,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 344.0% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 325,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,661,000 after acquiring an additional 251,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.