Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,512 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 25,474 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $4,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Viper Energy by 3,200.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 235,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,615,000 after purchasing an additional 228,177 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 103.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,962 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,982,000 after acquiring an additional 22,334 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Viper Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 268,297 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after acquiring an additional 16,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 2.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 239,404 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of VNOM opened at $40.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.33. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.71 and a 12-month high of $56.76. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 1.05.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 6.72%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VNOM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Viper Energy from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.31.

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.