SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC cut its Diamondback Energy stake by 16.9% in Q1, selling 27,275 shares and ending with 134,436 shares valued at about $26.6 million.
• Diamondback reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $4.23 EPS versus $3.74 expected, on revenue of $4.24 billion, up 4.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share from $1.05, while analysts remain broadly positive with an average Buy rating and a target price of $221.37.

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,436 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 27,275 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $26,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FANG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,330 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,400 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $661,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 2.4%

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $183.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $194.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.40. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.30 and a 12 month high of $214.51. The company has a market capitalization of $51.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 213.35 and a beta of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.54 EPS. Diamondback Energy's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 511.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $15,593,458.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 851,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 121,548 shares of company stock worth $23,146,460. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FANG. Roth Mkm set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Freedom Capital upgraded Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Benchmark lowered Diamondback Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $221.37.

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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