Citigroup Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Viper Energy by 180.4% in Q1, acquiring an additional 104,206 shares for a total of 161,956 shares valued at approximately $7.3 million.
• Viper Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.41, surpassing expectations of $0.34, with revenue of $297 million, a 37.1% increase compared to last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.6%, with a dividend payout ratio of 38.15%.

Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 180.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,956 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 104,206 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Viper Energy worth $7,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Viper Energy by 129.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Viper Energy by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VNOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.36.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM traded down $0.2350 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.1350. 1,192,097 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,699,867. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.99. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76. The company has a current ratio of 6.15, a quick ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $38.42 and its 200-day moving average is $41.36.

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

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

About Viper Energy

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.