Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Holdings Lessened by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 50.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,686 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 2,771 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during 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, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.6%

FANG traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.13. 2,291,301 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,141,691. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $141.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.00. The company has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.00 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. 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 data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total value of $1,426,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $234.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.09.

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.