LPL Financial LLC Has $3.60 Million Stock Position in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Viper Energy Inc. by 8.5% in Q1, holding 79,664 shares valued at approximately $3.60 million after selling 7,369 shares.
• Viper Energy's recent earnings report showed a 37.1% increase in year-over-year revenue, reporting $297 million and an EPS of $0.41, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.6%, and its current dividend payout ratio stands at 38.15%.

LPL Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,664 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 7,369 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $3,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VNOM. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Viper Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,861 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 129.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,655 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock opened at $37.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.57 and a 200-day moving average of $41.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15. Viper Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.71 and a 1 year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 37.84% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VNOM shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.15.

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.

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