Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 94.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,671 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,964 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $1,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. State Street Corp lifted 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 worth $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $18,044,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Viper Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $12,980,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in Viper Energy by 344.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 325,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,661,000 after buying an additional 251,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $76,647,000 after acquiring an additional 234,048 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.55.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

VNOM stock opened at $50.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.71. 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 1 year low of $32.24 and a 1 year high of $56.76.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid 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 is Thursday, March 6th. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is presently 51.50%.

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.