Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Sells 305,967 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,308,847 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 305,967 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.74% of Viper Energy worth $59,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VNOM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Viper Energy by 23.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,481,119 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $326,184,000 after buying an additional 1,603,333 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Viper Energy by 16.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,410,968 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $246,566,000 after buying an additional 923,276 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 48.8% in the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 1,934,469 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $73,703,000 after purchasing an additional 634,036 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 326.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 760,830 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,554,000 after purchasing an additional 582,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 19.8% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,001,411 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $115,434,000 after purchasing an additional 496,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Securities upped their target price on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Viper Energy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.00.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VNOM traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.16. 851,095 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,091,233. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 7.06 and a quick ratio of 7.06. Viper Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.61 and a twelve month high of $53.25. The company has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.71.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.28 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 25.63%. Viper Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Viper Energy's payout ratio is presently 41.10%.

Viper Energy Company Profile

Viper Energy, Inc owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, North America. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Viper Energy Partners LP and changed its name to Viper Energy, Inc in November 2023.