Patton Fund Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,759 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,786,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. One Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 30.1% during the third quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,603,000. Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $666,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 69.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 154,922 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,709,000 after buying an additional 63,360 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FANG. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $219.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.32.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

FANG traded down $1.34 on Thursday, hitting $181.12. The company had a trading volume of 527,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $186.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.99. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $2.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company 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.