Baird Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 3.6% in Q1, now owning approximately 0.11% of the company valued at $49.39 million.
• Insider trading revealed that Diamondback Energy's Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares, reducing his position by 16.65%, yet still retains over $14 million worth of shares.
• Diamondback Energy's latest earnings report showed a miss on earnings per share (EPS) expectations with $2.67 reported compared to a consensus estimate of $2.72, despite a 48.1% year-over-year revenue increase.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 308,899 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 10,835 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Diamondback Energy worth $49,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted 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 valued at $861,961,000 after buying an additional 249,098 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 94,177 shares during 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 valued at $655,953,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $468,846,000 after purchasing an additional 114,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 valued at $311,792,000 after purchasing an additional 418,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock traded up $1.10 on Tuesday, hitting $149.86. 1,558,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,843,046. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $142.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.11. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $200.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.The company'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. Equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Melius began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.33.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% 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.