Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Stock Sold by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Ellis Investment Partners cut its Diamondback Energy stake by 71.1% in the third quarter, selling 7,929 shares and retaining 3,220 shares valued at approximately $592,000. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of FANG.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with analysts assigning the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $226.71. Diamondback also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $6.48 in EPS and $5.56 billion in revenue.
• Diamondback shares recently traded down 1.1% to $200.18, while insiders sold 141,666 shares worth about $28.1 million over the past 90 days. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, equivalent to a 2.2% annualized yield.

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,220 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 7,929 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on FANG. UBS Group raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $265.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.71.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total value of $6,124,605.42. Following the sale, the director owned 759,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,617,411.36. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Travis D. Stice sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total value of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,159,723.37. This represents a 60.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,666 shares of company stock worth $28,061,456. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded down $2.24 on Wednesday, reaching $200.18. 593,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,616,656. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.03 and a 52 week high of $216.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $197.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01 and a beta of 0.55.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 21.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 85.77%.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves. The company's operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, particularly the Midland and Delaware Basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from horizontal wells and related infrastructure. Its activities include drilling and completing wells, operating gathering and processing assets, and managing midstream services that support production.

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