Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,915 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 11,018 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $2,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 87,317 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after buying an additional 10,035 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 24.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 15.6% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 38,769 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 35,964 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VNOM. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Viper Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays began coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.14.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM opened at $37.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.78. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.48 and a 52-week high of $41.22. The company has a quick ratio of 4.32, a current ratio of 4.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $37.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.28.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.20. Viper Energy had a net margin of 24.24% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm had revenue of $204.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.09. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is 39.71%.

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.