Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 77,090 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Diamondback by 0.3% in Q4, selling 77,090 shares and leaving it with 23,010,298 shares (about 8.03% of the company) valued at roughly $3.46 billion.
• Diamondback's latest quarter missed expectations with EPS of $1.74 versus $2.00 and revenue down 9% year-over-year, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (annualized $4.20, ~2.1% yield).
• Significant insider selling was reported (e.g., Director Charles Meloy sold 60,605 shares), with insiders offloading 1,217,069 shares worth about $201.2 million over the past 90 days; insiders now own 0.64% of the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,010,298 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 77,090 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.03% of Diamondback Energy worth $3,459,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 245.1% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 106.3% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $200.06 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.75 and a 12-month high of $204.91. The stock has a market cap of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.18 and a 200-day moving average of $163.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital upgraded Diamondback Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Scotiabank lifted 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. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total value of $9,764,677.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 982,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total value of $1,130,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,561.40. This trade represents a 57.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,217,069 shares of company stock worth $201,213,109. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

About Diamondback Energy

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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