Northern Trust Corp Boosts Position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 865,493 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 181,475 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.41% of Viper Energy worth $42,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $95,505,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Viper Energy by 20.3% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 389,473 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 164.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 576,637 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,296,000 after acquiring an additional 358,487 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 8.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $77,992,000 after purchasing an additional 268,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ VNOM traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 769,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,833. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.44 and a 200 day moving average of $47.30. Viper Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 6.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 target price on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.31.

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.