Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its Diamondback Energy stake by 23.9% in the first quarter, selling 36,771 shares and retaining 116,822 shares valued at approximately $23.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of FANG.
• Diamondback Energy insiders sold 113,691 shares worth $21.6 million over the past 90 days, while insider ownership stands at just 0.64%.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $218.68. The company’s latest quarterly results also exceeded expectations, reporting $4.23 in EPS and $4.24 billion in revenue.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,822 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 36,771 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $23,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 37.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,301,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,104 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 6,069 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 8.5% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 52,355 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,194,000 after purchasing an additional 4,103 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 37.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $21,239,000 after purchasing an additional 41,866 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total transaction of $1,406,300.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 85,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares in the company, valued at $9,303,451.68. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,691 shares of company stock valued at $21,622,752. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FANG. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $242.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $229.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.68.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $190.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 221.28 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.87 and a 200 day moving average of $183.53. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.30 and a 52 week high of $214.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.54 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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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