Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Viper Energy Inc. by 22.1% during Q1, owning 247,177 shares valued at approximately $11.16 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Invesco, have also raised their positions in Viper Energy, contributing to 87.72% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Viper Energy recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 5.6%, despite a decrease in its earnings per share from the previous year.

Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 247,177 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 44,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.12% of Viper Energy worth $11,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 22.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 774,626 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,974,000 after purchasing an additional 142,058 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 28.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $587,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,921,832 shares during the period. SCP Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 287.0% during the first quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 41,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 31,000 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 39.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,965 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 34.6% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 9,543 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,452 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities raised their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.15.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.79. 2,293,711 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,949,431. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 6.15, a quick ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Viper Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.71 and a twelve month high of $56.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.49.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%. The business's revenue was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. Viper Energy's payout ratio is 38.15%.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.