JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 52,839 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.1%, selling 52,839 shares to hold 4,740,172 shares valued at approximately $757.9 million.
• Diamondback Energy recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.67, slightly missing expectations, but achieved a revenue of $3.68 billion, surpassing analyst predictions.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 14th.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,740,172 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 52,839 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.62% of Diamondback Energy worth $757,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 95.7% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 180 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 119.8% in the first quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 200 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on FANG. Truist Financial increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $238.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.59.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded up $1.49 on Wednesday, hitting $139.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,944,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,116,350. The company has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.21. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $200.47.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.