WBI Investments LLC Invests $2.53 Million in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC invested approximately $2.53 million in Viper Energy Inc., purchasing 56,051 shares during the first quarter.
• Viper Energy's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.41, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 37.1% compared to the previous year.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.53, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.4% and a payout ratio of 38.15%.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 56,051 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,531,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,016,792 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $587,708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,921,832 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,953,910 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $539,719,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,933 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,996,351 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $451,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,093 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,751,660 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $124,238,000 after acquiring an additional 442,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,980,786 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $89,432,000 after acquiring an additional 539,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Roth Capital set a $50.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.80.

Viper Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of VNOM stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.57. 1,194,366 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,361,478. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $38.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.08. The stock has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 1.04. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.71 and a 12 month high of $56.76. The company has a quick ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.15%.

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.