Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Price Breaks Below 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Viper Energy shares fell below their 200-day moving average, dropping as low as $39.77 versus the $44.75 average, and last traded at $40.69.
• Despite the technical decline, analysts remain broadly positive: 16 rate the stock Buy and two Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $56.93.
• Second-quarter results met EPS expectations at $0.76 and exceeded revenue forecasts with $677 million, up 127.9% year over year. The company also paid a $0.29 special dividend, while institutional investors own 87.72% of its shares.

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report)'s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $44.75 and traded as low as $39.77. Viper Energy shares last traded at $40.69, with a volume of 2,185,415 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on VNOM. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.93.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.75. The firm has a market cap of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 313.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $643.45 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 3.43%. The firm's revenue was up 127.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 24.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 795,347 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,373,000 after acquiring an additional 154,032 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,550,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Viper Energy by 37.1% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 375,116 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $17,627,000 after buying an additional 41,300 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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