Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 21,378 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 97.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 514 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 21,378 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $82,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after acquiring an additional 928,429 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $769,706,000 after buying an additional 91,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $682,036,000 after buying an additional 502,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth $638,050,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van’t sold 10,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total value of $1,426,900.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 120,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.09.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $154.91 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

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.