Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VNOM. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.38.

Viper Energy Trading Down 2.4%

Viper Energy stock opened at $43.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.73 and a 200 day moving average of $43.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -136.56 and a beta of 0.38. 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 6.17, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $499.82 million. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 2.77% and a positive return on equity of 2.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 108.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Oaktree Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $240,215,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,906,846 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $646,180,000 after buying an additional 3,699,141 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,423,354 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $474,821,000 after buying an additional 1,957,417 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 452.4% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 1,661,991 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $63,521,000 after buying an additional 1,361,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,087,000. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.