6,989 Shares in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has acquired 6,989 shares of Viper Energy Inc. ($VNOM), valued at approximately $316,000, during the first quarter.
• Viper Energy recently announced it will cut its quarterly dividend to $0.53, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.4%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Viper Energy, with an average price target of $55.93, after recent adjustments from various firms.

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,989 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $587,708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921,832 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,552,974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $70,117,000 after acquiring an additional 271,337 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,441,269 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $70,723,000 after acquiring an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,168,306 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $52,749,000 after acquiring an additional 591,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,072,101 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $48,405,000 after acquiring an additional 283,628 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM opened at $39.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 6.15 and a current ratio of 6.15. The company has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.63. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 37.84% and a return on equity of 3.92%. Viper Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VNOM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $55.93.

Viper Energy 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.

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