Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Viper Energy Inc. by 96.5%, leaving them with only 6,824 shares worth approximately $308,000.
• Analysts have adjusted price targets for Viper Energy, with Barclays raising its target from $57.00 to $60.00, while the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Viper Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.3% based on a payout ratio of 31.58%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 96.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,824 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 186,239 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FIL Ltd increased its position in Viper Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,964,130 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $194,520,000 after purchasing an additional 310,890 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,309,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $113,324,000 after buying an additional 389,473 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,733,745 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $85,102,000 after buying an additional 35,084 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 21.2% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,552,974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $70,117,000 after buying an additional 271,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,441,269 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $70,723,000 after buying an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VNOM. Bank of America lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Securities upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.23.

Viper Energy Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $37.50. 1,897,724 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,651,560. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 8.70 and a quick ratio of 8.70. Viper Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.71 and a 1-year high of $56.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.20.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a net margin of 43.43% and a return on equity of 5.41%. The firm's revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

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.