Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 62,746 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 21.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,045 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 62,746 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $37,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 95.7% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 180 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 119.8% in the first quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 200 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 65.0% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG opened at $137.92 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $140.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.86.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 30.84%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.50 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy's revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 24.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $238.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $193.13.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the sale, the president owned 120,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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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