Nykredit A S Buys New Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S initiated a stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter, buying 40,807 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Diamondback receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $226.33. Recent targets range from $216 to $255.
• Diamondback reported quarterly EPS of $6.48, beating estimates, while revenue rose 51.2% year over year to $5.56 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.10 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 40,807 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $7,173,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth about $3,303,362,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,420,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,886,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,918,943 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $852,791,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,621,120 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $844,073,000 after purchasing an additional 14,625 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,332,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $651,363,000 after buying an additional 534,073 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $216.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Travis Stice sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at $10,159,723.37. This trade represents a 60.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.41, for a total value of $6,613,600.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 818,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,338,466.77. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $189.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $199.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.95. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.13 and a 12-month high of $216.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 20.33 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.77%.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The company's operations are concentrated primarily in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include drilling and completing horizontal wells, operating gathering and infrastructure assets, and managing mineral and royalty interests through its Viper Energy platform.

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