Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,503 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 7,499 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Demars Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $298,327,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $185,193,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,817,554 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $461,600,000 after buying an additional 658,644 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $139.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $114.00 and a one year high of $214.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.61. The stock has a market cap of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.09.

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.

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