Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Sold by Bernzott Capital Advisors

Bernzott Capital Advisors trimmed its holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 91.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,955 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 129,095 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors' holdings in Viper Energy were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $390,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 51,571 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 99.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,361 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VNOM. StockNews.com cut shares of Viper Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised Viper Energy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Viper Energy Price Performance

Shares of VNOM stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.37. 680,045 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,631. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. The company has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 1.73. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.21 and a 12 month high of $56.76.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $209.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.50%.

Viper Energy Company 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.