Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. Purchases 44,000 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund increased its Diamondback Energy stake by 123.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 44,000 more shares to bring its total to 79,500 shares worth about $11.95 million.
• Wall Street analysts remain constructive on FANG, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $223.63.
• Diamondback reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share from $1.05.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 123.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,500 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the period. Diamondback Energy comprises 1.8% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $11,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 264.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total value of $1,130,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,561.40. This trade represents a 57.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jere W. Thompson III sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.47, for a total transaction of $136,852.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,975 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,644,838.25. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,065 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,236. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $192.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $195.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.36. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.30 and a fifty-two week high of $214.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.05 billion, a PE ratio of 223.41 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is 511.63%.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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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