Insider Selling: Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Sells 377,911 Shares of Stock

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total transaction of $52,382,243.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,828,599.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $157.52. 1,200,607 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,235,500. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $180.91. The company has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.63.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.32% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 106.3% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SouthState Corp lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 596.4% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 195 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Roth Capital set a $162.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.95.

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.