Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VNOM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Viper Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,323 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Viper Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Viper Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,743 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Viper Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 24,230 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Viper Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,861 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VNOM shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.46.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

VNOM stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,442,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,806. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 8.70 and a current ratio of 8.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.26. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 5.41% and a net margin of 43.43%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

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.