Wells Fargo & Company MN Purchases 11,493 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,370 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,493 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.05% of Viper Energy worth $5,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 2.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,505,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,733,745 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $85,102,000 after acquiring an additional 35,084 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $77,992,000 after acquiring an additional 268,959 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Viper Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,568 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,040,000 after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VNOM. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (down previously from $64.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Friday, March 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.62.

Viper Energy Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $41.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $56.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.23.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.