Aspire Private Capital LLC Buys 3,357 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 71.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,031 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 3,357 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $769,706,000 after purchasing an additional 91,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 208,200 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FANG shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.13.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $148.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,309,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,244,738. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.62.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 30.84% and a return on equity of 11.22%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.