Encore Global Management LP Makes New Investment in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Encore Global Management acquired 7,000 Diamondback Energy shares worth approximately $1.385 million in the first quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of the company.
• Diamondback reported quarterly EPS of $4.23, beating estimates of $3.74, while revenue reached $4.24 billion and rose 4.7% year over year.
• FANG shares opened at $190.30, down 2.8%, while analysts maintained a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $218.68; insiders have sold more than $21.6 million in stock over the past three months.

Encore Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,837 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $487,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,010 shares during the period. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $169,342,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $144,775,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,198,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,332,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $651,363,000 after buying an additional 534,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $190.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $53.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 221.28 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $190.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.53. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.30 and a 52-week high of $214.51.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $246.00 to $243.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $229.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research lowered Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 85,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total value of $1,002,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. This trade represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 113,691 shares of company stock valued at $21,622,752 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy 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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