Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Stock: Viking Fund Management LLC Lowers Stake

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $7,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,303,362,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,420,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,886,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,943 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,562,224 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,208,188,000 after purchasing an additional 510,281 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $852,791,000. Finally, EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI L.P. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI L.P. now owns 2,896,632 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $435,451,000 after purchasing an additional 107,369 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Travis D. Stice sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total value of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,159,723.37. This trade represents a 60.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total transaction of $6,124,605.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 759,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,617,411.36. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 141,666 shares of company stock worth $28,061,456 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $197.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $55.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.55. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.03 and a 52-week high of $216.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $196.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 20.41 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 85.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $259.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.50.

Diamondback Energy Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas. The company focuses primarily on the acquisition, development, exploration and production of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Diamondback’s operations are concentrated in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins, where it develops properties using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Its production includes crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.