Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on VNOM. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.85.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.19. 1,461,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,356,678. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy has a 1-year low of $34.71 and a 1-year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 6.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Viper Energy by 28.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $587,708,000 after buying an additional 2,921,832 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,505,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,996,351 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $451,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,093 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 763.4% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,799,642 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $81,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 12.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,953,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $539,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,933 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.