Northern Trust Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has decreased its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 7.4%, now owning 1,937,084 shares valued at approximately $309.7 million.
• Diamondback Energy reported a quarterly earnings miss with $2.67 earnings per share, falling short of the expected $2.72, despite a 48.1% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" for Diamondback Energy, with an average price target of $193.33, even as some institutions significantly adjusted their holdings in the company.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,937,084 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 155,835 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.66% of Diamondback Energy worth $309,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth about $230,039,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $185,193,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,496,859,000 after buying an additional 928,429 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 16,197.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $96,827,000 after buying an additional 601,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5,748.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 448,624 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $73,498,000 after acquiring an additional 440,953 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FANG opened at $137.87 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $200.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.14. The company has a market capitalization of $39.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The company's revenue was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. 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 research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.33.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total transaction of $2,913,120.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% 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.

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