United Services Automobile Association Makes New Investment in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired 4,169 shares of Diamondback Energy, valued at approximately $657,000, signaling increased institutional interest in the company.
• Diamondback Energy’s stock has received positive attention from analysts, with numerous upgrades and a consensus rating of "Buy", alongside an average price target of $193.17.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.9% and a dividend payout ratio of 28.43%.

United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,169 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 16,197.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605,625 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $96,827,000 after acquiring an additional 601,909 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $77,622,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 5,748.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 448,624 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $73,498,000 after acquiring an additional 440,953 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,950,160 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $311,792,000 after purchasing an additional 418,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ FANG traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $136.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,751,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,638,129. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.68 and a 200 day moving average of $142.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.14. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,586,306. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.17.

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.