Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 2,261 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,633 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $4,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VNOM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 4,836.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 74,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 73,085 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the third quarter valued at about $984,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viper Energy by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,647,000 after buying an additional 234,048 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $706,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,980,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of VNOM opened at $51.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 1.71. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.24 and a 1 year high of $56.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.03. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VNOM. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.55.

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.