Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on VNOM. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $58.00 target price on Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.43.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Viper Energy stock opened at $48.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -151.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.96. The company has a current ratio of 6.17, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Viper Energy has a 12-month low of $35.10 and a 12-month high of $51.13.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $499.82 million. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.64% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.Viper Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 108.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Viper Energy will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -475.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 28.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,906,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $646,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,699,141 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,916,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $498,967,000 after buying an additional 493,203 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,491,534 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $443,918,000 after buying an additional 1,144,863 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,215,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,711,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $220,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and intends to acquire mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. As a pass-through entity, Viper Energy Partners does not engage in drilling or production operations directly; instead, it generates revenues by holding overriding royalty interests, mineral fee interests and royalty fee interests. These interests entitle the partnership to receive a percentage of the proceeds from hydrocarbons produced and sold by third-party operators.

The partnership’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin, with a primary focus on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.