Ninety One UK Ltd Takes $7.27 Million Position in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 161,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,273,000. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.08% of Viper Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Viper Energy by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNOM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Viper Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Viper Energy from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on Viper Energy from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Viper Energy Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $37.83 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.75. The company has a current ratio of 8.70, a quick ratio of 8.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.97. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.99 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 5.41% and a net margin of 43.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.58%.

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.