State of Michigan Retirement System Buys 7,000 Shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,701,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Viper Energy by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 302,575 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $13,661,000 after purchasing an additional 65,375 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 21.3% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 59,901 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,705,000 after buying an additional 10,529 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Viper Energy by 38.4% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 25,600 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 6,591.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 91,068 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,112,000 after buying an additional 89,707 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,216,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,342. 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 $10.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 8.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 43.43% and a return on equity of 5.41%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VNOM. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.00.

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.