Hartford Investment Management Co. Boosts Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,790 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth $40,000. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 28.1% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $180.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The firm has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $185.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.34. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $2.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.