Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 52,254 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $8,561,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $638,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,327,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,193,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $185,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,496,859,000 after purchasing an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock opened at $136.81 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $142.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.95. The company has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during 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, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $197.70.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.

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