Comerica Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Comerica Bank boosted its shares in Viper Energy Inc. by 24.0% in Q1, holding a total of 37,497 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million.
• Viper Energy has a dividend yield of 5.4%, with a quarterly dividend recently paid to shareholders amounting to $0.53.
• Multiple analysts have reduced their price targets for Viper Energy, with Bank of America setting a new target of $50.00, while the consensus rating remains at "Buy" with an average target of $55.93.

Comerica Bank raised its position in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,497 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 7,251 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 16,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 74,819 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 865,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $42,470,000 after purchasing an additional 181,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,228,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $39.55 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $38.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.63. Viper Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.71 and a 1-year high of $56.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $297.00 million for 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%.Viper Energy's revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VNOM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, August 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $55.93.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.