GW&K Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 846,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 18,577 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $26,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,841 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 11,556 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Viper Energy by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 400,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $12,552,000 after acquiring an additional 165,000 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,837,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,481,000 after acquiring an additional 80,321 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth $350,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Viper Energy by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,376 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VNOM shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Viper Energy from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays started coverage on Viper Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Viper Energy from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, TD Securities raised their price target on Viper Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.29.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock traded down $0.52 on Wednesday, reaching $37.72. 69,013 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 899,940. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Viper Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.48 and a twelve month high of $41.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.78.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $205.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $200.63 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 24.24%. Analysts anticipate that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous None dividend of $0.56. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Viper Energy Company 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.