Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 7,191 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 40.5% during the first quarter, selling 7,191 shares and leaving them with a total of 10,582 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million.
• Diamondback Energy's recent quarterly earnings report showed $2.67 EPS, falling short of analysts’ estimates of $2.72, although the company's revenue increased by 48.1% year-over-year to $3.68 billion.
• The company announced a $1.00 quarterly dividend, translating to an annual yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 28.43% as of the latest financial disclosures.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 7,191 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,418,840 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $861,961,000 after acquiring an additional 249,098 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,257,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $680,649,000 after acquiring an additional 94,177 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102,785 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $655,953,000 after acquiring an additional 208,200 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.1% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,932,484 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $468,846,000 after acquiring an additional 114,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after acquiring an additional 418,431 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $137.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.15. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $200.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $228.00 to $222.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy 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.

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