Johnson Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,998 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,322 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 3,998 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,215,000. Fulcrum Equity Management bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,027 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $3,935,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $138,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $136.76 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $145.04 and a 200 day moving average of $162.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.96.

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.