Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on VNOM. Citigroup lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $56.60.

Viper Energy Price Performance

VNOM opened at $44.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 6.37 and a quick ratio of 6.37. The firm has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 0.50. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $35.10 and a 1 year high of $51.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.47.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Viper Energy had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 3.43%. The business had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 127.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a yield of 281.0%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,169.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Viper Energy by 24.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 795,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,373,000 after buying an additional 154,032 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,675,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 370,040 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,387,000 after purchasing an additional 100,193 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 375,116 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $17,627,000 after acquiring an additional 41,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Company Profile

Viper Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: VNOM) is an oil and gas company that owns and acquires mineral, royalty and overriding royalty interests in properties operated primarily by other exploration and production companies. Its interests provide exposure to production from wells without requiring Viper to fund most drilling and completion activities.

The company’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, including the Midland and Delaware sub-basins. Viper’s interests are associated mainly with oil and natural gas development and generate revenue from its share of production, while its broad and diversified ownership position spans numerous wells and acreage holdings.

Viper Energy was established as Viper Energy Partners and became a publicly traded master limited partnership in 2014.