Viper Energy Partners (NASDAQ:VNOM) Stock Price Up 2.6% on Insider Buying Activity

Viper Energy Partners LP (NASDAQ:VNOM – Get Rating) shares rose 2.6% during trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock traded as high as $27.65 and last traded at $27.56. Approximately 36,591 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 393,139 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.86.

Specifically, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III sold 205,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $6,781,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,844,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $324,859,524. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Spencer D. Armour III bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.44 per share, for a total transaction of $105,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $955,118.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings L.P. Blackstone III sold 205,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.00, for a total transaction of $6,781,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,844,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $324,859,524. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Viper Energy Partners in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Viper Energy Partners from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. TheStreet cut shares of Viper Energy Partners from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy Partners in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Viper Energy Partners from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Viper Energy Partners currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.11.

Viper Energy Partners Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 5.41 and a current ratio of 5.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.89.

Viper Energy Partners (NASDAQ:VNOM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The oil and gas producer reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $203.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.99 million. Viper Energy Partners had a net margin of 17.50% and a return on equity of 6.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Viper Energy Partners LP will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Viper Energy Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.25%. Viper Energy Partners’s payout ratio is 49.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy Partners by 88.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 148,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 69,651 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy Partners by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,672 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 7,092 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy Partners by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,308 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Viper Energy Partners by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 191,522 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,664,000 after purchasing an additional 34,839 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy Partners in the 1st quarter worth approximately $226,000. 40.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Viper Energy Partners

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Viper Energy Partners LP 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.