Aurora Investment Counsel Lowers Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Aurora Investment Counsel decreased its position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,121 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 4,505 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the second quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Viper Energy by 962.3% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Viper Energy by 119.2% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,834 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Viper Energy by 94.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Finally, Sandia Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter worth about $192,000. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VNOM has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Viper Energy from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Viper Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $44.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VNOM opened at $45.11 on Tuesday. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.73 and a 12 month high of $49.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 7.06 and a quick ratio of 7.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 1.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.74.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.19. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 25.63%. The business had revenue of $216.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

About Viper Energy

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.