Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Declares $0.29 Special Dividend

Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) announced a special dividend on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the oil and gas producer on Thursday, August 20th. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th.

Viper Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years. Viper Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 84.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Viper Energy to earn $2.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 73.8%.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 6.17, a quick ratio of 6.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.61. The company has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -136.53 and a beta of 0.40. Viper Energy has a 12 month low of $35.10 and a 12 month high of $51.13.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.76. Viper Energy had a positive return on equity of 2.64% and a negative net margin of 2.77%.The firm had revenue of $677.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Viper Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 127.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Viper Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 13,720 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,849 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,027,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,348 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Viper Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,036 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded master limited partnership that owns and intends to acquire mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties. As a pass-through entity, Viper Energy Partners does not engage in drilling or production operations directly; instead, it generates revenues by holding overriding royalty interests, mineral fee interests and royalty fee interests. These interests entitle the partnership to receive a percentage of the proceeds from hydrocarbons produced and sold by third-party operators.

The partnership’s assets are concentrated in the Permian Basin, with a primary focus on the Delaware Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.