Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,560,392 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 62,950 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $73,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 256.7% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Viper Energy by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM opened at $45.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.17, a current ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.28. The stock has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -141.06 and a beta of 0.40. Viper Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.10 and a 52 week high of $51.13.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.12. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.64% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.The firm had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $499.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 108.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is currently -475.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VNOM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Viper Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.57.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and intends to acquire mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. As a pass-through entity, Viper Energy Partners does not engage in drilling or production operations directly; instead, it generates revenues by holding overriding royalty interests, mineral fee interests and royalty fee interests. These interests entitle the partnership to receive a percentage of the proceeds from hydrocarbons produced and sold by third-party operators.

The partnership’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin, with a primary focus on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.