KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 65,100 Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 65,100 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,665,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $161.01 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.09 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.13.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. 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 yield of 2.48%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.92.

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.