Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 50,000 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 250,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $12,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Viper Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,094,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $495,360,000 after purchasing an additional 239,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 78.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $172,918,000 after buying an additional 1,682,183 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth $95,505,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 16.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $76,647,000 after acquiring an additional 234,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Viper Energy by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,992,000 after acquiring an additional 268,959 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $44.40 on Friday. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.46 and a 52 week high of $56.76. The company has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.02. The company has a quick ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on VNOM shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Friday, March 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

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.