Carret Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Carret Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,690 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Viper Energy by 4,836.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 74,596 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 73,085 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $76,647,000 after acquiring an additional 234,048 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,980,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $10,615,000 after acquiring an additional 228,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 103.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,962 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after acquiring an additional 22,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VNOM. KeyCorp raised shares of Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down previously from $64.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Friday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock opened at $43.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $35.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 1.69.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.70%.

Viper Energy Profile

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.