U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC initiated a new stake in Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) in Q4, purchasing 39,935 shares valued at about $1.54 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 87.7% of the stock.
• Viper beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $0.31 versus $0.27 and reported $435 million in revenue (up 87.6% year‑over‑year), while the company has a market cap of $16.1 billion and a negative trailing P/E.
• Viper raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, yield ~3.4%), and analysts remain predominantly upbeat with an average "Buy" rating and a mean target price of $54.47 after several target increases.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 39,935 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,543,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VNOM. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Viper Energy during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Viper Energy by 503.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 906 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 68.3% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the third quarter worth about $57,000. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ VNOM opened at $45.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of -195.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.50. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.10 and a 52 week high of $49.08. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.63.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $415.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Viper Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is -660.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VNOM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $54.47.

Viper Energy Company 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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