State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.80 Million Stock Position in Viper Energy Inc. $VNOM

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,074 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the first quarter worth $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 65.6% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,217 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 39.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 48.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $37.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.15, a current ratio of 6.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Viper Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.71 and a twelve month high of $56.76. The stock has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 16.69 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.11 and its 200 day moving average is $38.97.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Viper Energy had a net margin of 37.84% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company had revenue of $297.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $285.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. Viper Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Viper Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 38.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Viper Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price (down previously from $60.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.07.

Viper Energy Company 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.