Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 401 Shares of Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,281 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $4,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VNOM. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 129.0% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 735 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the first quarter valued at $34,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM opened at $40.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.99. Viper Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.71 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 6.15 and a current ratio of 6.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $38.03 and a 200-day moving average of $40.91.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $297.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.35 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 37.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is 38.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.93.

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.