Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 525,467 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 10,928 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $103,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FANG. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 264.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.39. 1,364,974 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,323,722. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.24. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.30 and a 1 year high of $214.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $51.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 213.25 and a beta of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total transaction of $1,406,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares in the company, valued at $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,691 shares of company stock worth $21,622,752. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.68.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub?basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.