Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 32.2%, owning 40,211 shares valued at $5,525,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Diamondback Energy reported $2.67 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, missing estimates, despite revenue increasing by 48.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 28.43%.

Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,211 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 9,786 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $5,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,418,840 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $861,961,000 after buying an additional 249,098 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,257,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $680,649,000 after buying an additional 94,177 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102,785 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $655,953,000 after buying an additional 208,200 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,932,484 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $468,846,000 after acquiring an additional 114,930 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after acquiring an additional 418,431 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Melius started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $213.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $193.39.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Monday, reaching $138.88. 1,403,082 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,382,736. The company has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50-day moving average is $142.33 and its 200 day moving average is $141.77. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $200.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given 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 was Thursday, August 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy 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 value of $2,913,120.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.