Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 13,664 Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,664 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VNOM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.00.

Viper Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ VNOM traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.67. 681,642 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,142. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76. The company has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.35 and its 200-day moving average is $46.68.

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

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.