Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 222,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 56,332 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $36,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $160.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.09 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.88.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.33.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.