Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Stock: Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management cut its Diamondback Energy stake by 51.4% in the third quarter, selling 10,209 shares and retaining 9,659 shares worth approximately $1.78 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 90.01%, with Wellington Management and State Street among the major holders increasing their positions, while company insiders sold approximately $28.1 million of stock over the past 90 days.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Diamondback carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $226.71. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $6.48 in EPS and $5.56 billion in revenue.

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,659 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 10,209 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FANG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at about $3,303,362,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,420,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,886,351,000 after acquiring an additional 3,918,943 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,562,224 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,208,188,000 after acquiring an additional 510,281 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $852,791,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $268,855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Travis Stice sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total value of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,159,723.37. This represents a 60.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total transaction of $6,124,605.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 759,864 shares in the company, valued at $139,617,411.36. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 141,666 shares of company stock valued at $28,061,456. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FANG shares. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $206.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $221.00) on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $205.00) on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.71.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $205.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.61 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.46. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $137.03 and a one year high of $216.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 21.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 85.77%.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.