Arizona State Retirement System Buys 6,743 Shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,598 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,743 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,323 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Viper Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,743 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,230 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,861 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,442,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,259. The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 18.79 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.19. Viper Energy Inc. has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $56.76. The company has a current ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 8.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 5.41% and a net margin of 43.43%. The business had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VNOM. Wall Street Zen raised Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.46.

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.