Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM Shares Bought by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 18.7% in Q3 to 12,423,354 shares (about 4.31% of the company), and other large institutions including Vanguard also materially increased positions, leaving institutional ownership near 87.7%.
• Viper Energy beat its recent quarter expectations with EPS of $0.31 vs. $0.27 expected and revenue of $435M (up 87.6% year‑over‑year), although the company reported a negative net margin.
• Management raised the quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52) for a roughly 3.5% yield, while analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target near $51.43.

Capital World Investors increased its position in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 18.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,423,354 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,957,417 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 4.31% of Viper Energy worth $474,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Viper Energy by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,906,846 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $646,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,699,141 shares during the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,220,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,416,000. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,973,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 199.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,142,619 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $43,568,000 after purchasing an additional 760,756 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viper Energy Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $43.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a PE ratio of -187.25 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $48.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.52 and a 200-day moving average of $39.30.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 4.87%.The business had revenue of $435.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $415.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 87.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Viper Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -660.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNOM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Viper Energy from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $51.43.

About Viper Energy

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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