Aurora Investment Counsel Acquires New Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Aurora Investment Counsel acquired 7,478 shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.31 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of the company.
• Diamondback reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $6.48 beating estimates of $6.08 and revenue rising 51.2% year over year to $5.56 billion. The company also declared a $1.10 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.1% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $222.21, although insiders sold approximately $24.7 million of stock over the past 90 days and several earnings forecasts were reduced.

Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,478 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,314,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 264.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.41, for a total value of $6,613,600.53. Following the transaction, the director owned 818,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,338,466.77. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 129,167 shares of company stock valued at $24,714,309 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Diamondback Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $212.00 target price on Diamondback Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.21.

Key Stories Impacting Diamondback Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Equal Weight rating but raised or maintained a $216 price target, implying modest upside from the referenced price. The target provides some support, though the neutral rating limits the bullish signal. Morgan Stanley rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its FY2028 EPS forecast to $15.37 from $14.83, suggesting potential longer-term earnings improvement. Diamondback Energy valuation and pipeline venture article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to rate FANG Hold or Equal Weight, indicating neither a strong bullish nor bearish consensus. Diamondback’s Permian-to-Katy gas pipeline strategy and participation in the Solitude Pipeline venture could broaden its midstream exposure, but the investment benefits remain dependent on execution and future cash flows. Diamondback Permian-to-Katy gas pipeline article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut several near- and medium-term forecasts: Q3 2026 EPS to $2.70 from $4.32, Q4 2026 to $3.11 from $4.19, FY2026 to $16.52 from $18.11, FY2027 to $14.95 from $16.42, Q4 2027 to $3.08 from $3.87, and Q1 2028 to $3.12 from $3.57. Additional reductions affected Q2 and Q3 2027 estimates. These revisions outweigh the isolated FY2028 increase and are likely pressuring the stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.7%

FANG stock opened at $208.55 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $191.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.74. The company has a market cap of $58.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65 and a beta of 0.43. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.30 and a 12-month high of $214.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.77%.

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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