Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Acquired by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors increased its Diamondback Energy stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,250 additional shares and bringing its total to 226,457 shares worth about $34.0 million.
• Insider selling continued, with director Charles Alvin Meloy and CAO Teresa L. Dick both selling shares in recent transactions; insiders sold 54,065 shares worth about $10.6 million over the last quarter.
• Diamondback reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.23 and revenue of $4.24 billion, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 226,457 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,250 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $34,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FANG. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 264.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.20, for a total value of $1,486,544.40. Following the sale, the director owned 942,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $178,362,813.20. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,065 shares of company stock valued at $10,551,236 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $192.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.41 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.30 and a 52-week high of $214.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $195.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.36.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.54 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.92 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $202.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research cut Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.63.

Diamondback Energy Company 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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