Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 28.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,921,832 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.11% of Viper Energy worth $587,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 129.0% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,293,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,431. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 6.15 and a quick ratio of 6.15. The company has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 0.99. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $56.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.49.

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

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. 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 note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.15.

Viper Energy 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.