Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.72 Million Stake in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC sold 18,343 shares of Viper Energy Inc. in Q1, reducing its stake by 18.2%, leaving it with 82,290 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Viper Energy reported Q2 earnings of $0.41 per share, surpassing estimates of $0.34, with a revenue increase of 37.1% year-over-year.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was set at $0.53, translating to a 5.5% annual yield, with a payout ratio of 38.15%.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,290 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 18,343 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $3,715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 28.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $587,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,921,832 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 21.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,996,351 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $451,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,778,093 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 763.4% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,799,642 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $81,254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,212 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 12.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,953,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $539,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the first quarter valued at $27,090,000. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, August 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price target on Viper Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $55.53.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of VNOM stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.50. 1,693,615 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,306,503. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.08 and its 200-day moving average is $39.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.04. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.71 and a 52 week high of $56.76.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Viper Energy 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.