Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy by 14.5%, selling 18,864 shares and maintaining 111,500 shares valued at $17.8 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Institutional investors now own 90.01% of Diamondback Energy, with several funds increasing their positions, notably Wellington Management Group, which raised its stake by 27.3%.
• Despite reporting a quarterly earnings miss of $2.67 EPS, the company's revenue surpassed expectations at $3.68 billion, showing a year-over-year increase of 48.1%.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,500 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 18,864 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $17,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,418,840 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $861,961,000 after purchasing an additional 249,098 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,257,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $680,649,000 after purchasing an additional 94,177 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102,785 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $655,953,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.1% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,932,484 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $468,846,000 after purchasing an additional 114,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after purchasing an additional 418,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of several research reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $228.00 to $222.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $14,586,306. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $137.28 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $142.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.50. The stock has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.15. 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 quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.