Viking Fund Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Viking Fund Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $176.95 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $147.93 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.73.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.