O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Sells 8,192 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,816 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 8,192 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $4,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Williams Trading set a $190.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $161.49 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a PEG 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 50-day simple moving average of $157.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.51.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.