Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Given New $68.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) had its target price increased by Piper Sandler from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

VNOM has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Securities raised their target price on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Viper Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.71.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock opened at $44.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.73 and a 200-day moving average of $39.37. The company has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -192.17 and a beta of 0.48. Viper Energy has a 1 year low of $34.71 and a 1 year high of $48.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 3.72 and a quick ratio of 3.72.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 4.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $435.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $415.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 87.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -660.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Viper Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Viper Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 503.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

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.