Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Bought by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 292.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,210 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 23,267 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $95,505,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $19,469,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,309,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $113,324,000 after purchasing an additional 389,473 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 164.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 576,637 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,296,000 after purchasing an additional 358,487 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,964,130 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $194,520,000 after acquiring an additional 310,890 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.31. 1,127,633 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,354,019. Viper Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.71 and a twelve month high of $56.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $40.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. The firm has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 1.00.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $233.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VNOM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Thursday. TD Securities increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.85.

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.