Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Price Target to $48.00

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $48.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on VNOM. Mizuho upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.15.

Viper Energy Trading Down 1.7%

VNOM opened at $37.79 on Thursday. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $34.71 and a 12 month high of $56.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.49.

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

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Viper Energy by 129.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.