Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,686 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 2,771 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after acquiring an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $769,706,000 after purchasing an additional 91,605 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,050,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $137.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.09. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $40.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.50 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.57.

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.