Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 28,050 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 11.2% in the first quarter, retaining approximately 221,625 shares valued at $35.4 million.
• Multiple institutions, including Nuveen LLC and Wellington Management Group LLP, made substantial investments in Diamondback Energy, indicating strong interest from institutional investors.
• Diamondback Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 28.43%.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 28,050 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $35,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC now owns 3,559 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the first quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the first quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,858 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $4,614,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:FANG traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.76. 1,214,063 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,405,490. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.39. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.00 and a fifty-two week high of $200.47. 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 capitalization of $43.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.09.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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.