Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Earns Outperform Rating from Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $54.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $52.00.

VNOM has been the subject of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.15.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $40.34 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.28. Viper Energy has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $56.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 1.05.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is 31.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,701,000. FORA Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 196.5% during the fourth quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 13,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 8,831 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Viper Energy by 103.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,962 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 22,334 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth $358,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Viper Energy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 268,297 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 16,172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.