Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has significantly cut its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 85.3% during the first quarter, now owning 3,638 shares worth $582,000 after selling 21,050 shares.
• Several institutional investors have also altered their positions in Diamondback Energy, notably with Talon Private Wealth LLC increasing its holdings by an astonishing 4,756.5% during the same period.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Diamondback Energy, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.17, despite the company's recent earnings report missing estimates by a slight margin.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 85.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,638 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 21,050 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Redwood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 21,589 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 148.6% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 343 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4,756.5% during the first quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,638 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,502,000 after purchasing an additional 15,316 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 19,258 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $3,079,000 after buying an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the first quarter worth about $383,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Melius assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, August 25th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.17.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of FANG opened at $138.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $200.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.32.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%.Diamondback Energy's quarterly revenue was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is 28.43%.

About Diamondback Energy

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.

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