Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 13,900 Shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 55.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,150 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 13,900 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the first quarter worth $34,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 2.6% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 145,656 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,622 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 13.5% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,553 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the period. Finally, Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 28.1% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,973 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 983,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,680,806. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 8.70 and a current ratio of 8.70. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 17.36 and a beta of 0.97. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.71 and a 12 month high of $56.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 5.41% and a net margin of 43.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given 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 3.17%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.46.

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.