Blair William & Co. IL Grows Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Diamondback by 5,608.2% in Q3 to 219,537 shares (about $31.4M), contributing to roughly 90% institutional ownership of the stock.
• Major insiders sold large blocks recently — Fang Holdings L.P. sold 1,000,000 shares at about $162.88 (~$162.9M) and a director sold 60,605 shares — leaving insiders with roughly 0.70% ownership.
• Diamondback missed quarterly estimates (EPS $1.74 vs. $2.00; revenue $3.38B vs. $3.41B) but raised its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (annualized $4.20, yield ~2.3%).

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 5,608.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 219,537 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 215,691 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $31,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total value of $9,764,677.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 982,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $180.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $50.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.16. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $183.36.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.The firm's revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 74.87%.

Key Stories Impacting Diamondback Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an “overweight” rating on FANG and trimmed its price target only slightly (from $218 to $215), signalling continued conviction in upside. Piper Sandler price target note
• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target substantially (to $216) and maintained a “buy” rating, providing another bullish analyst signal that supports further upside. UBS price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating with a $195 target, citing disciplined growth, expanding inventory and low breakevens — supportive fundamentals for investors focusing on cash returns and resilience. TD Cowen buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Market write-ups highlight FANG as one of the energy stocks leading this year’s rally (LNG/export tailwinds and shareholder-friendly cost structures cited), which may attract momentum buyers. Benzinga rally piece
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights FANG among names to watch as WTI moves above $75, indicating commodity-driven upside potential for upstream producers. Zacks oil price note
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report in the feed appears unreliable (shows zero shares / NaN change), so there’s no clear evidence of a new short squeeze or mounting short pressure to impact the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: Benchmark Co. downgraded Diamondback from “buy” to “hold,” removing one bullish endorsement and likely contributing to investor caution despite other positive notes. Benchmark downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage pieces (Barron’s) note that some energy names are being downgraded even as oil rallies, a theme that can cap multiple-stock rallies and temper enthusiasm for big rerating moves. Barron's sector downgrade piece

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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