Balentine LLC Cuts Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Balentine LLC lessened its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,540 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 413 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,102 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $152,177,000 after acquiring an additional 577,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FANG shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $191.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $200.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.41 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The company has a market cap of $34.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.91.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,575 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,006 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

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.