Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 315,614 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,147,755 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 315,614 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.93% of Diamondback Energy worth $3,792,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.92.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $161.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.09 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.