Energy Income Partners LLC Grows Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 24.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 9,224 shares to own a total of 47,449 shares valued at approximately $7.59 million.
• Diamondback Energy reported a net margin of 27.25% and a revenue increase of 48.1% year-over-year, but missed earnings per share forecasts for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, yielding 2.7%, with a current payout ratio of 28.43%.

Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 24.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,449 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,224 shares during the quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $7,586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,039,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,193,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16,197.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $96,827,000 after acquiring an additional 601,909 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5,748.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 448,624 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $73,498,000 after acquiring an additional 440,953 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after acquiring an additional 418,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at $14,586,306. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.33.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.7%

FANG stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,558,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,046. The company has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.14. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $200.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $142.83 and its 200-day moving average is $143.11.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business's revenue was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

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.