Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Acquired by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its Diamondback Energy stake by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,865 shares to bring its total to 98,430 shares valued at about $14.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 90.01% of the company, underscoring strong Wall Street interest in the stock.
• Diamondback beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to $1.10 per share, and analysts currently maintain a Buy consensus with a $218.25 target price.

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,430 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,865 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $14,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,733,538 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $821,649,000 after acquiring an additional 163,548 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,798,812 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $543,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,398 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,120,359 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $446,523,000 after acquiring an additional 274,331 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,355,480 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $337,078,000 after acquiring an additional 198,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,952,276 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $268,243,000 after acquiring an additional 164,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research raised Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark lowered Diamondback Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.25.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.0%

FANG opened at $207.77 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $132.20 and a one year high of $214.51. The company has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 241.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $192.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.83.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.54 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 511.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $950,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 107,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,473,450. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 63,957 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.16, for a total value of $11,586,450.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 305,314 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,310,684.24. The trade was a 17.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,321 shares of company stock worth $31,055,475. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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