Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Lowers Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 48.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,962 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 10,498 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ FANG opened at $199.80 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $191.25 and its 200-day moving average is $181.66. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $56.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 232.33 and a beta of 0.42. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $134.30 and a one year high of $214.51.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.9 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $15,593,458.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 851,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,338,293.60. This represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 113,691 shares of company stock valued at $21,622,752 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $242.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $218.68.

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.