Ashford Capital Management Inc. Invests $16.10 Million in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management initiated a $16.1 million position in Viper Energy, buying 342,680 shares and acquiring approximately 0.10% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 87.72% of VNOM.
• Viper Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, beating estimates of $0.43, while revenue rose 108.6% year over year to $511 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield.
• VNOM shares were trading at $43.04, down 4.6%, while analysts maintained an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $57.57.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 342,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $16,103,000. Viper Energy accounts for about 2.0% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Ashford Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Viper Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 68.3% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 256.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ VNOM opened at $43.04 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a PE ratio of -134.50 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.37. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.10 and a 52 week high of $51.13.

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

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -475.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VNOM. Mizuho raised their price objective on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Viper Energy from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viper Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Viper Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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