Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 23,191 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 145.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,162 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,191 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $6,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after acquiring an additional 928,429 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $849,202,000 after acquiring an additional 571,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $769,706,000 after acquiring an additional 91,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $638,050,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,776,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,175,728. The company has a market capitalization of $41.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $135.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.79.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 24.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 120,645 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,214,835.05. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FANG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.09.

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.