Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. Reduces Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its holdings in Viper Energy Inc. by 32.7% during the first quarter, leaving it with 32,114 shares valued at approximately $1,450,000.
• Despite Contrarian's reduction, other institutional investors increased their stakes, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its stake by 28.9%, now owning over 13 million shares.
• Viper Energy also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.4%.

Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. trimmed its holdings in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 32.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,114 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 15,594 shares during the period. Viper Energy makes up about 0.4% of Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,070 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 5.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 129.0% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Viper Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $55.93.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,332,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,086. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, 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 quick ratio of 6.15 and a current ratio of 6.15. Viper Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.71 and a 1-year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 37.84% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date was 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.