Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 3,000 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC has reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. by 15.0%, selling 3,000 shares in the second quarter, bringing total ownership to 17,000 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million.
• The company reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $2.72, despite a revenue increase of 48.1% year-over-year.
• Diamondback Energy has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio of 28.43%.

Viking Fund Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 95.7% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 180 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. SouthState Corp lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 596.4% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 195 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 203 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 200 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 3.8%

NASDAQ FANG traded up $5.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $144.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 824,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,378,719. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.76. The stock has a market cap of $41.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.15. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $200.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.52 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 102,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,586,306. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $212.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $193.39.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.