Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its Viper Energy stake by 16.5% in the second quarter, selling 96,973 shares and retaining 492,281 shares valued at approximately $20.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 87.72% of VNOM.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 16 Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $56.93. Recent targets range from $52 to $59.
• Viper Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.76, in line with estimates, while revenue of $677 million exceeded expectations and rose 127.9% year over year. The company also paid a special dividend of $0.29 per share.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 16.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 492,281 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 96,973 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Viper Energy worth $20,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 4,352.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 9,668,090 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $409,927,000 after purchasing an additional 9,450,957 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,087,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Viper Energy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,491,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $443,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,863 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,550,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 7,413.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,109,824 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $42,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on VNOM shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Viper Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.93.

Viper Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Viper Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised multiple earnings forecasts. Estimates increased for Q3 2026 EPS to $0.51 from $0.48, Q4 2026 EPS to $0.55 from $0.43, and full-year 2026 EPS to $2.37 from $2.22. Zacks also lifted Q1 2027 EPS to $0.64 from $0.55, FY2027 EPS to $2.29 from $2.22, Q2 2028 EPS to $0.57 from $0.54, and FY2028 EPS to $2.34 from $2.26. The revisions suggest analysts see somewhat better near- to long-term earnings potential for the oil and gas producer. Viper Energy analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: The rating remains “Hold.” Despite the higher forecasts, Zacks did not upgrade Viper Energy, and the current-year consensus EPS estimate remains $2.73. This may limit the immediate bullish impact of the revisions.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no actionable change. Reported short interest was zero shares as of September 10, versus zero previously, with a 0.0-day short-interest ratio. However, the reported percentage change was listed as “NaN,” indicating a likely data-quality issue rather than a meaningful shift in investor positioning.

Viper Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM opened at $44.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 343.95 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 6.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.60 and a 200-day moving average of $45.04. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.10 and a 52-week high of $51.13.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. The business had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $643.45 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.43% and a net margin of 2.89%.The company's revenue was up 127.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 281.0%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,169.23%.

Viper Energy Profile

Viper Energy, Inc NASDAQ: VNOM is a mineral and royalty company focused on owning interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than drilling and operating wells directly, the company leases its mineral and royalty interests to exploration and production companies and receives a share of the revenue generated from the resulting production.

Viper's asset portfolio is concentrated in the Permian Basin, including the Midland and Delaware sub-basins in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

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