Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Increases Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354,655 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,991 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.12% of Diamondback Energy worth $53,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 8,689 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 55,945 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $8,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 380,295 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $57,170,000 after purchasing an additional 29,592 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 87.9% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 144,778 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $21,764,000 after purchasing an additional 67,715 shares during the period. Finally, Marietta Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,302 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 5.1%

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $192.62 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.30 and a twelve month high of $214.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 223.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.54 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

Diamondback Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research and KeyCorp both lifted several near- and longer-term earnings estimates for Diamondback Energy, suggesting analysts still see solid profit potential ahead. Zacks also reiterated a Hold rating, while KeyCorp kept an Overweight rating and a $225 price target.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks described Diamondback Energy as a strong momentum stock, which may reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Zacks momentum stock article
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted that Diamondback Energy has been trading near highs, but the focus was on market activity rather than a direct company-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Financial Post reported that the daughter of late wildcatter Autry Stephens is offloading a $2 billion energy stake, including a Diamondback Energy position. Large insider- or major-holder selling can weigh on sentiment because investors may view it as profit-taking after a strong run. Stephens family stake sale in Diamondback Energy

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark lowered Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.27, for a total transaction of $1,439,952.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 974,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,532,287.23. The trade was a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total transaction of $1,130,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,561.40. The trade was a 57.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,321 shares of company stock worth $16,386,359. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Diamondback Energy

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.