Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 704 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,071 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 704 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.5% during 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 buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,795 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,892 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,129,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.0 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $158.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.09 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.51. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.92.

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.