GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 16,197.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 605,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 601,909 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.21% of Diamondback Energy worth $96,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 34,793 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $5,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 4,261 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 631.1% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,148 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,069,000 after buying an additional 37,246 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total value of $1,426,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG traded down $0.65 on Thursday, reaching $138.70. 590,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,514,623. The firm has a market cap of $40.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $136.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.37. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 24.46%.

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.