Ethic Inc. Sells 7,419 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Ethic Inc. decreased its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,873 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 7,419 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 6,805 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 940,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $154,096,000 after buying an additional 253,604 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 6,214 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $202.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $194.09.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.13. 2,291,301 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,137,172. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.50 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy's revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.