Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target Raised to $49.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Viper Energy from $44 to $49 and kept an "overweight" rating, while multiple brokers have lifted targets leading to a consensus average target of $52.27 (consensus rating: "Moderate Buy").
• Recent quarter beat estimates: Viper reported $0.31 EPS vs. $0.27 expected and revenue of $435 million (up 87.6% year-over-year), with the stock trading around $47.71 and a market cap of about $17.06 billion.
• Heavy institutional ownership: Hedge funds and large asset managers (Vanguard, Capital World, Wellington, Oaktree, Adage) have materially increased positions, leaving institutions owning roughly 87.72% of the shares.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $44.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.70% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.27.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Viper Energy stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.71. 905,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,340,108. The company has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.30, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.90. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Viper Energy has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $49.08.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.04. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 4.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $435.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $415.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 28.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,906,846 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $646,180,000 after acquiring an additional 3,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,916,557 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $498,967,000 after purchasing an additional 493,203 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,491,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $443,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,863 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $240,215,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Viper Energy by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,711,539 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $220,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,838 shares during the period. 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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