Morgan Stanley Cuts Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target to $45.00

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VNOM. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Roth Capital set a $50.00 target price on Viper Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, TD Securities set a $54.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Viper Energy Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $36.22 on Tuesday. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $34.71 and a 1 year high of $56.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.14.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%.The firm had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 247,177 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,160,000 after acquiring an additional 44,700 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 302,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,661,000 after acquiring an additional 65,375 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 59,901 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 10,529 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,552,974 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $70,117,000 after acquiring an additional 271,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 31,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viper Energy Company Profile

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.