Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Rating Upgraded by Seaport Research Partners

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Seaport Research Partners to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VNOM. Johnson Rice initiated coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “accumulate” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut Viper Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.93.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $44.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 6.37 and a current ratio of 6.37. Viper Energy has a 52 week low of $35.10 and a 52 week high of $51.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.04. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.33 and a beta of 0.39.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. The company had revenue of $677.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.45 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 3.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 127.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Viper Energy will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Viper Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,916,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $498,967,000 after buying an additional 493,203 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,491,534 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $443,918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,863 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 4,352.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,668,090 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $409,927,000 after acquiring an additional 9,450,957 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,711,539 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $220,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,197,538 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $198,182,000 after acquiring an additional 148,503 shares during 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.