Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Position Boosted by Eagle Asset Management Inc.

Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,615 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 3,203 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $541,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,900 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 25.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $372,196,000 after purchasing an additional 439,579 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $603,038,000 after buying an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,144,000 after buying an additional 402,026 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 195.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 531,162 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $106,333,000 after buying an additional 351,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FANG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.00.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $179.55 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.70 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.46.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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.