Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 308 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,239 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,007,599 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $465,817,000 after purchasing an additional 858,446 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $128,720,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,266,640 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,209,617,000 after acquiring an additional 648,317 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after acquiring an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 286.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 595,694 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $92,380,000 after acquiring an additional 441,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $204.37 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.41 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The stock has a market cap of $36.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.93. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.41 and its 200 day moving average is $168.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.29 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.67 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $3.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.03%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on FANG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total transaction of $514,536.25. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 over the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.