Vantage Investment Partners LLC Buys 8,689 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,569 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,689 shares during the period. Diamondback Energy makes up 1.1% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $13,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.1% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $171.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $50.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.88. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $170.28 and its 200 day moving average is $181.97. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $147.93 and a one year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $207.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy 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.