Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,405 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,666 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 2,405 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $4,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FANG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $190.00 target price on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.92.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ FANG opened at $157.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $161.05 and its 200 day moving average is $170.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.09 and a 1 year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.