Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 1,005,962 Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 1,005,962 shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter, worth approximately $176.8 million and representing a 0.36% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.01% of the company.
• Diamondback Energy reported quarterly earnings of $6.48 per share, beating estimates of $6.08, while revenue rose 51.2% year over year to $5.56 billion. The company also maintains a $1.10 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 2.2% annual yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.21 versus the reported share price of $199.84. However, insiders sold 129,167 shares worth $24.7 million over the past 90 days.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,005,962 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $176,828,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.36% of Diamondback Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth about $3,303,362,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $852,791,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $268,855,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,837 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $487,045,000 after buying an additional 1,379,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $169,342,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total transaction of $1,002,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,167 shares of company stock valued at $24,714,309. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $246.00 to $243.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.21.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of FANG stock opened at $199.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $55.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.96 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $192.62 and a 200-day moving average of $190.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.30 and a 1-year high of $216.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 8.58%.The company had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 20.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 85.77%.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc NASDAQ: FANG is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback's activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.

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