Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VNOM. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Johnson Rice began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “accumulate” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viper Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.41.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $40.19 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.49. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $35.10 and a 12 month high of $51.13. The company has a current ratio of 5.92, a quick ratio of 5.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $625.18 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 4.24% and a net margin of 12.08%. The business’s revenue was up 58.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 4.2% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 5,771 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 40,617 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 52,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than serving primarily as a drilling operator, the company earns revenue from production on acreage where other companies conduct exploration and development. Its interests are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, including the Midland and Delaware sub-basins. Viper’s business is tied to activity by the operators that develop the underlying properties.