Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 62,411 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 458.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,032 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,411 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $2,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $231,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 13.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 600,462 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $16,741,000 after buying an additional 70,815 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $226,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $1,760,000. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 181,535 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,000 after buying an additional 28,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

VNOM opened at $39.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Viper Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.26 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.06.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $205.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $200.63 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 24.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.56. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VNOM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.43.

Viper Energy 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.