Peterson Wealth Services Trims Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Peterson Wealth Services cut its Diamondback Energy stake by 67.2% in the first quarter, leaving it with 7,856 shares worth about $1.55 million.
• Diamondback Energy reported better-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $4.23 versus estimates of $3.74 and revenue of $4.24 billion versus $3.83 billion expected.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share, while analysts remain bullish with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $220.68.

Peterson Wealth Services lowered its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 67.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,856 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 16,117 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services' holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,083 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $11,102,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Seelaus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,232 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $4,397,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 49.2% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $182.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.20 billion, a PE ratio of 211.63 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.21. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.30 and a 52 week high of $214.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.54 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 511.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.68.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total transaction of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 85,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total value of $15,593,458.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 851,530 shares in the company, valued at $159,338,293.60. The trade was a 8.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,691 shares of company stock valued at $21,622,752. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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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