JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 423.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,513 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.09% of Viper Energy worth $7,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 33.3% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,076,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the second quarter worth about $1,081,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Viper Energy by 14.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,119 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Viper Energy by 45.2% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,102 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 6,566 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Viper Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.91. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.21 and a 12 month high of $56.76. The firm has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $209.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.54 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.50%.

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.