Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Given "Outperform" Rating at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $58.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer's stock, down from their prior price objective of $64.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp raised shares of Viper Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.55.

Viper Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

VNOM traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $49.38. 1,063,178 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,319. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 1.71. Viper Energy has a fifty-two week low of $31.51 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $209.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Viper Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 51.50%.

Institutional Trading of Viper Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth $95,505,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $172,918,000 after buying an additional 1,682,183 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $18,044,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,980,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 344.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 325,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $14,661,000 after acquiring an additional 251,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.