Viper Energy’s (VNOM) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $58.00 price target on the oil and gas producer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $64.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp raised Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.55.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM opened at $49.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.83. The company has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33 and a beta of 1.71. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $31.39 and a 12 month high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $209.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.54 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Viper Energy will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.50%.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth $95,505,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 142,034 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,970,000 after purchasing an additional 46,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,568 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,040,000 after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.