State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy by 6.9% during the first quarter, holding 63,080 shares valued at approximately $10.1 million.
• Diamondback Energy's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.67, missing estimates by $0.05, while revenue reached $3.68 billion, exceeding expectations.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $191.45 for Diamondback Energy, with several firms adjusting their ratings and price objectives recently.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,080 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 4,678 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $10,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 95.7% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 180 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 596.4% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 195 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 200 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FANG. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $204.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $222.00 price objective (down from $228.00) on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.45.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $140.22 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.65 and a 200 day moving average of $144.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.09. 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.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.72 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 27.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FANG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.