Castleark Management LLC Purchases Shares of 90,680 Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Castleark Management acquired 90,680 Diamondback Energy shares worth approximately $15.94 million, while other institutional investors also increased their positions. Hedge funds and institutional investors own 90.01% of FANG.
• Diamondback Energy reported quarterly EPS of $6.48, beating estimates of $6.08, while revenue rose 51.2% year over year to $5.56 billion. The stock opened at $199.89, near its 12-month high of $216.90.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, equivalent to an annualized $4.40 dividend and a 2.2% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $222.21.

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 90,680 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $15,940,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 37.5% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,301,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 13.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,104 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,022,000 after acquiring an additional 6,069 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.5% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 52,355 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 41,866 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $199.89 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $192.34 and its 200-day moving average is $189.96. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.30 and a 12-month high of $216.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $55.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96 and a beta of 0.43.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 20.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $206.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $212.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 33,333 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.41, for a total value of $6,613,600.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 818,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,338,466.77. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,167 shares of company stock worth $24,714,309. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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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