746,343 Shares in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Bought by Encompass Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought 746,343 shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter, a position valued at about $112.2 million. The stake makes FANG the fund’s fifth-largest holding and about 4.6% of its portfolio.
• Diamondback Energy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $4.23 per share versus the $3.74 consensus estimate and posting revenue of $4.24 billion, above forecasts. Analysts still expect the company to earn 19.92 per share for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share from $1.05, implying an annualized payout of $4.40 and a 2.4% yield. Meanwhile, analysts remain generally positive, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $223.63.

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased 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 disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 746,343 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $112,198,000. Diamondback Energy comprises about 4.6% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.26% of Diamondback Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,822,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,161,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $185.48 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $195.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.39. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.30 and a 1-year high of $214.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 215.68 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.54 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.92 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, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 511.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $15,593,458.08. Following the sale, the director owned 851,530 shares in the company, valued at $159,338,293.60. This represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.50, for a total transaction of $98,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,640,370.50. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 121,548 shares of company stock worth $23,146,460. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on FANG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $202.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.63.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc NASDAQ: FANG is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback's activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.

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