37,940 Shares in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM Purchased by Weiss Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Weiss Asset Management purchased 37,940 shares of Viper Energy valued at approximately $1.78 million, while several other institutional investors also increased their holdings. Institutions now own 87.72% of VNOM.
• Viper Energy exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.55 versus the $0.43 consensus estimate and revenue of $511 million, up 108.6% year over year.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to a 3.4% annualized yield. Analysts remain generally bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $57.57.

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 37,940 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,783,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,464,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 37.2% during the first quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 33,391 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 9,046 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 6.7% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 54,882 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,579,000 after buying an additional 3,438 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 32.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 53,046 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,493,000 after buying an additional 13,114 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 40.3% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 51,877 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,438,000 after buying an additional 14,898 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of VNOM opened at $45.14 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -141.06 and a beta of 0.40. Viper Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.10 and a twelve month high of $51.13. The company has a quick ratio of 6.17, a current ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.33.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $499.81 million. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 2.77% and a positive return on equity of 2.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 108.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. Viper Energy's payout ratio is -475.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VNOM. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viper Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $58.00 price objective on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.57.

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.

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