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

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VNOM. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. TD Securities set a $54.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.20.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Viper Energy

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $37.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 1.88. Viper Energy has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $52.03. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.48.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $418.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $389.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 20.62%.Viper Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 98.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Viper Energy by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in Viper Energy by 503.3% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viper Energy

(Get Free Report)

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.

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