Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Lifted to Buy by Wall Street Zen

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

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Viper Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.93.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.1%

VNOM opened at $40.64 on Friday. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $35.10 and a 12 month high of $51.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 312.64 and a beta of 0.50. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.72.

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

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,916,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $498,967,000 after purchasing an additional 493,203 shares in the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,945,000 after buying an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,231,728 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,879,000 after buying an additional 93,498 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Viper Energy by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,223,344 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,485,000 after acquiring an additional 145,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth $52,087,000. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viper Energy

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.