Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Trading Down 5.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Viper Energy shares fell 5.1% to about $43.62 in midday trading, with volume down sharply versus the average session.
• Despite recent target cuts, analysts remain broadly positive: 16 rate the stock Buy and two Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $56.93.
• Viper reported quarterly revenue of $677 million, up 127.9% year over year, while matching estimates at $0.76 earnings per share; it also paid a special dividend of $0.29 per share.

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) was down 5.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.71 and last traded at $43.6160. Approximately 210,641 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,242,163 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VNOM. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD raised their price target on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered Viper Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.93.

Viper Energy Stock Down 6.9%

The company has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 328.97 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.04. The company has a quick ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 6.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 127.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a yield of 281.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,169.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VNOM. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 24.0% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 154,032 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 370,040 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $17,387,000 after buying an additional 100,193 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,550,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 12.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 375,116 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $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 first quarter valued at about $1,783,000. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Company Profile

Viper Energy, Inc NASDAQ: VNOM is a mineral and royalty company focused on owning interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than drilling and operating wells directly, the company leases its mineral and royalty interests to exploration and production companies and receives a share of the revenue generated from the resulting production.

Viper's asset portfolio is concentrated in the Permian Basin, including the Midland and Delaware sub-basins in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

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