Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Grows Position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,838 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Viper Energy by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,094,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $495,360,000 after buying an additional 239,404 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in 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 valued at $194,520,000 after buying an additional 310,890 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Viper Energy by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,309,425 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $113,324,000 after buying an additional 389,473 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,505,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Viper Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,733,745 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $85,102,000 after buying an additional 35,084 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VNOM shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James set a $52.00 target price on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.08.

Viper Energy Trading Down 3.8%

VNOM opened at $41.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

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.