Hodges Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased 29,925 shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: VNOM), valued at approximately $1.35 million, as per their recent 13F filing.
• Viper Energy reported a net margin of 37.84% and a quarterly revenue of $297 million, exceeding analyst expectations which estimated revenue at $285.35 million.
• The company recently cut its dividend to $0.53 per share, representing a yield of 5.5%, with a payout ratio of 38.15%.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 29,925 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy during the first quarter worth about $34,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Viper Energy during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 100.0% in 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, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Viper Energy stock traded up $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $37.90. 671,826 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,272. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.09 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. The firm's 50-day moving average is $38.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.95. 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 (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. Sell-side 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VNOM. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, August 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. 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 target price of $55.53.

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.