Ascent Group LLC Sells 3,337 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 23.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,755 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 3,337 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $875,000. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 27,766 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,502,000 after acquiring an additional 6,975 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,706,076,000 after buying an additional 2,381,488 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 90,452 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $18,041,000 after buying an additional 12,243 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

Diamondback Energy stock traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $198.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 852,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,752. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.08 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.65.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.