Vanguard Group Inc. Has $3.79 Billion Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,147,755 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 315,614 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $3,792,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,892 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,249,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock opened at $161.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.14 and a 200-day moving average of $170.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.09 and a 12 month high of $214.50. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. 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 payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.92.

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.