Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,900 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 10,560 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Viper Energy worth $6,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VNOM. Quarry LP bought a new position in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VNOM traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.41. 1,274,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,381,175. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 8.70 and a quick ratio of 8.70. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 18.47 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.01.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 43.43% and a return on equity of 5.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VNOM shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

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.