Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 4,836.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 74,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 73,085 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 worth $76,647,000 after buying an additional 234,048 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $12,980,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 3,200.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 235,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,615,000 after buying an additional 228,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 103.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,962 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,982,000 after buying an additional 22,334 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VNOM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Viper Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.73.

Viper Energy Stock Up 2.6 %

VNOM stock opened at $42.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.69. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.26. Viper Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $35.46 and a one year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

About Viper Energy

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.