JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 423.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 167,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,513 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $7,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $172,918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,183 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Viper Energy by 12.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,085,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $78,282,000 after purchasing an additional 224,021 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $76,647,000 after purchasing an additional 234,048 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 860,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,822,000 after buying an additional 160,600 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 625,261 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $28,206,000 after buying an additional 66,222 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.73. Viper Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.21 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76. 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 50 day moving average price of $51.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.91.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $209.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.54 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

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.