Magnolia Group LLC Buys New Position in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

Magnolia Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 23,500 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $937,000. Viper Energy comprises approximately 0.3% of Magnolia Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VNOM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 13.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,223,344 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,485,000 after purchasing an additional 145,221 shares during the period. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Viper Energy by 36.9% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 989,318 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,488,000 after buying an additional 266,703 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Viper Energy in the first quarter worth about $37,464,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 24.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 795,347 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $37,373,000 after buying an additional 154,032 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 56.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 615,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $28,942,000 after buying an additional 221,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on VNOM shares. Zacks Research cut Viper Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $57.00 price target on Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.41.

Viper Energy Stock Up 2.3%

Viper Energy stock opened at $41.13 on Thursday. Viper Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.10 and a 12 month high of $51.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.43. The firm has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 5.92, a quick ratio of 5.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.03. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 4.24% and a net margin of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Viper Energy’s revenue was up 58.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.95%.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. Rather than serving primarily as a drilling operator, the company earns revenue from production on acreage where other companies conduct exploration and development. Its interests are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, including the Midland and Delaware sub-basins. Viper’s business is tied to activity by the operators that develop the underlying properties.