Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Raises Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 137.1% in Q4, adding 30,672 shares to hold 53,042 shares worth about $2.05M, and institutional investors now own roughly 87.72% of VNOM.
• Viper Energy beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.31 versus $0.27 and revenue up 87.6% year-over-year, while carrying a market cap of $16.9B and a negative P/E of -205.43.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, ~3.2% yield), and Wall Street is broadly positive with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average target of $54.47 after several upgrades.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 137.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,042 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 30,672 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $2,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in Viper Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,841 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 16.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 37,746 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,239 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 128,182 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $47.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -205.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.50. Viper Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.10 and a twelve month high of $49.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $45.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.72, a quick ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. Viper Energy had a negative net margin of 4.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $415.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Viper Energy's revenue was up 87.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Viper Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -660.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.47.

Viper Energy Profile

Viper Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and intends to acquire mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. As a pass-through entity, Viper Energy Partners does not engage in drilling or production operations directly; instead, it generates revenues by holding overriding royalty interests, mineral fee interests and royalty fee interests. These interests entitle the partnership to receive a percentage of the proceeds from hydrocarbons produced and sold by third-party operators.

The partnership's assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin, with a primary focus on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

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