Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 117.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 193,063 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 104,370 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Viper Energy worth $9,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 78.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares during the period. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,044,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,980,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 344.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 325,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,661,000 after acquiring an additional 251,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 16.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,647,000 after acquiring an additional 234,048 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viper Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $46.84 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.56 and a twelve month high of $56.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.62.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

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 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on VNOM shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viper Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.00.

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.