Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $877,000 in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,484 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $877,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FANG. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,974 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $3,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 70,362 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $11,527,000 after purchasing an additional 33,752 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,649 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,479 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Boothe Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Boothe Investment Group Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.13.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $141.15 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $114.00 and a one year high of $214.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $139.45 and a 200-day moving average of $151.29. The company has a market capitalization of $41.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 30.84%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 120,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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