Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Mount Lucas Management LP

Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,671 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 6,916 shares during the period. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FANG. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $176.60 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.70 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.36. The firm has a market cap of $51.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.78 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

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.