Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 278,763 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $45,670,000. Diamondback Energy comprises 1.8% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Diamondback Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the fourth 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. Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 182.9% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 232 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued 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 "Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ FANG traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,944,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,125,010. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $141.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.09. The company has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.50 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 24.46%.

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.