Readystate Asset Management LP Acquires Shares of 173,270 Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• Readystate Asset Management acquired 173,270 Viper Energy shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $7.35 million. Hedge funds and other institutions own 87.72% of VNOM, with several large investors increasing their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 16 Buy ratings and two Holds. Viper Energy has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $56.93, compared with a recent share price of $44.39.
• Viper Energy reported quarterly revenue of $677 million, up 127.9% year over year, while earnings per share matched estimates at $0.76. The company also paid a $0.29-per-share special dividend.

Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 173,270 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $7,347,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,087,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Viper Energy by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,491,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $443,918,000 after buying an additional 1,144,863 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth $42,550,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 7,413.0% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,109,824 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $42,417,000 after buying an additional 1,095,052 shares during the period. Finally, Ninepoint Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 1,200,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $46,356,000 after buying an additional 1,050,000 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VNOM has been the subject of several research reports. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Viper Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Johnson Rice began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an "accumulate" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 target price on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.93.

Viper Energy Price Performance

VNOM stock opened at $44.39 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 6.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 341.49 and a beta of 0.39. Viper Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.10 and a twelve month high of $51.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.04.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76. Viper Energy had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 3.43%. The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 127.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a yield of 281.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is 1,169.23%.

About Viper Energy

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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