The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its Diamondback Energy position by 48.4% in the first quarter, selling 137,320 shares and retaining 146,140 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.01% of FANG.
• Diamondback insiders sold 113,691 shares worth about $21.6 million over the past three months, while insider ownership stands at 0.64%.
• Wall Street maintains a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $218.63. Diamondback also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $4.23 in EPS and $4.24 billion in revenue.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 48.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,140 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 137,320 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Diamondback Energy worth $28,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,239,837 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $487,045,000 after buying an additional 1,379,010 shares during the period. EnCap Energy Capital Fund XII L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $169,342,000. Smead Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $144,775,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,198,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,332,885 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $651,363,000 after acquiring an additional 534,073 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares in the company, valued at $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.54, for a total value of $1,002,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,303,451.68. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 113,691 shares of company stock valued at $21,622,752 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FANG shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $242.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Diamondback Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $248.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $221.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $218.63.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $202.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $57.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 235.99 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $190.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.39. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $134.30 and a one year high of $214.51.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.54 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.9 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy 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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