Corebridge Financial Inc. Grows Stock Position in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its stake in Viper Energy Inc. by 24.4%, acquiring an additional 28,558 shares to bring its total ownership to 145,424 shares, valued at approximately $6.57 million.
• Viper Energy recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41, surpassing estimates and showcasing a 37.1% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $0.53, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.3%, amid a challenging market environment for oil prices.

Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 24.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,424 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 28,558 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of Viper Energy worth $6,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Viper Energy by 129.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VNOM. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $50.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.80.

Viper Energy Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:VNOM traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.41. The company had a trading volume of 285,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,007. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.61. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.71 and a 52 week high of $56.76. 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 announced 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. Viper Energy had a net margin of 37.84% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Viper Energy Company 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.