Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM Stock Holdings Decreased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in Viper Energy by 39.5% in Q4, selling 22,712 shares and leaving it with 34,822 shares worth about $1.345M, while institutional investors overall hold 87.72% of the stock.
• Viper Energy beat Q results (EPS $0.31 vs $0.27 consensus) with revenue of $435M (up 87.6% YoY), recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.38 (annualized $1.52, 3.1% yield), and carries a consensus Buy rating with an average target of $55.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 22,712 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Viper Energy by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,841 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in Viper Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 37,746 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Viper Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,239 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Viper Energy by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 128,182 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Viper Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,358 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM opened at $48.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 3.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.51, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.30. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.10 and a 52-week high of $49.08.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $435.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $415.51 million. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 4.87%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 87.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Viper Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Viper Energy's payout ratio is currently -660.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on VNOM shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Securities upped 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 upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $55.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.