Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 16,657 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 17.9%, selling 16,657 shares in the first quarter, and now holds 76,519 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Twelve hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Diamondback Energy, with several increasing their stakes, including Grove Bank & Trust, which increased its holdings by 65.0%.
• Research analysts have mixed opinions on the company, with several downgrading to a "sell" rating, while others have set price targets ranging from $180.00 to $222.00.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,519 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 16,657 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $12,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 27,390 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 184,408 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $30,211,000 after purchasing an additional 12,671 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,092,919 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $342,883,000 after acquiring an additional 219,173 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 573.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 13,459 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 11,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,214,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,694. The company has a market cap of $43.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.30. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $200.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share 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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is 28.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of Diamondback Energy 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 of the company's stock, valued at $14,586,306. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $228.00 to $222.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Melius started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.33.

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.