9,680 Shares in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Acquired by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 9,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,094,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $495,360,000 after acquiring an additional 239,404 shares during the period. FIL Ltd increased 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 worth $194,520,000 after purchasing an additional 310,890 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $113,324,000 after purchasing an additional 389,473 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $95,505,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 2.1% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 35,084 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $41.33 on Friday. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.71 and a 52 week high of $56.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.85.

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.