Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Viper Energy received a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 17 brokerages, with 15 buys and two holds. Analysts’ average 12-month price target is $57.57, above the reported share price of $45.14.
• The company exceeded first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $0.55 in EPS versus the $0.43 consensus and $511 million in revenue, up 108.6% year over year.
• Viper Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to $1.52 annually and a 3.4% yield; institutional investors own approximately 87.7% of the stock.

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.5714.

VNOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Friday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock.

Viper Energy Stock Up 0.0%

VNOM opened at $45.14 on Monday. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $35.10 and a 1 year high of $51.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $44.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a current ratio of 6.17. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a PE ratio of -141.06 and a beta of 0.40.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.12. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 2.77% and a positive return on equity of 2.64%. The firm had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $499.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Viper Energy's revenue was up 108.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Viper Energy will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -475.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 31.2% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 256.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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