Ghisallo Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Ghisallo Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 71.4%, now holding 100,000 shares after having sold 250,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Diamondback Energy reported a net margin of 27.25% and earnings per share of $2.67, which was below analysts' expectations, although its revenue increased by 48.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.7%, with a payout ratio of 28.43%.

Ghisallo Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 71.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 250,000 shares during the quarter. Diamondback Energy comprises about 1.4% of Ghisallo Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $15,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,418,840 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $861,961,000 after purchasing an additional 249,098 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,257,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $680,649,000 after purchasing an additional 94,177 shares in the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102,785 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $655,953,000 after purchasing an additional 208,200 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.1% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,932,484 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $468,846,000 after purchasing an additional 114,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $311,792,000 after purchasing an additional 418,431 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at $14,586,306. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $179.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $193.33.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7%

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

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

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Diamondback Energy Company 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.