Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Price

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $49.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

VNOM has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. TD Securities set a $54.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Barclays cut their price target on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Viper Energy from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Viper Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Viper Energy stock opened at $36.22 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.14. 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 company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.92. Viper Energy has a fifty-two week low of $34.71 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%.The company’s revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 3,640 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 339,124 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,311,000 after buying an additional 60,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Viper Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 360 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.