Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) from $46.00 to $45.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, which suggests a potential upside of 22.20% from the stock's last close.
• Other analysts, including Barclays and Mizuho, have also reduced their price targets, with the average target now at $55.00 and the general consensus rating described as a "Moderate Buy."
• Despite the recent downgrades, Viper Energy's stock reported a quarterly earnings beat, with $0.41 EPS compared to the expected $0.34, indicating strong financial performance.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.20% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Viper Energy from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price objective on Viper Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, TD Securities set a $54.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.00.

Viper Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VNOM traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.82. The company had a trading volume of 385,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,880. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 6.15 and a current ratio of 6.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.92. Viper Energy has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%.Viper Energy's quarterly revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Viper Energy by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 247,177 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,160,000 after acquiring an additional 44,700 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 302,575 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $13,661,000 after buying an additional 65,375 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 59,901 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,705,000 after buying an additional 10,529 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,552,974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $70,117,000 after buying an additional 271,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 31,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.

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