WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys Shares of 32,292 Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd opened a new position in Diamondback Energy, buying 32,292 shares valued at about $4.85 million in the fourth quarter.
• Diamondback posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.23 topping estimates and revenue of $4.24 billion; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.10 per share from $1.05.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $223.26, though some recent insider sales and a Zacks downgrade to Hold add mixed sentiment.

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,292 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $4,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $144,775,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 38.0% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,798,812 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $543,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,398 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,159,365 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $775,607,000 after buying an additional 532,756 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2,637.8% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 456,686 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $65,352,000 after buying an additional 440,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1,127.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 369,568 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $52,885,000 after buying an additional 339,468 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $192.62 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.30 and a 1-year high of $214.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $196.07 and a 200-day moving average of $173.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $54.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.98 and a beta of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 1.87%.Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 511.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven E. West sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total transaction of $1,130,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,561.40. The trade was a 57.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,321 shares of company stock valued at $16,386,359. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research and KeyCorp both lifted several near- and longer-term earnings estimates for Diamondback Energy, suggesting analysts still see solid profit potential ahead. Zacks also reiterated a Hold rating, while KeyCorp kept an Overweight rating and a $225 price target. Analyst estimate updates for Diamondback Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks described Diamondback Energy as a strong momentum stock, which may reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Zacks momentum stock article
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted that Diamondback Energy has been trading near highs, but the focus was on market activity rather than a direct company-specific catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Financial Post reported that the daughter of late wildcatter Autry Stephens is offloading a $2 billion energy stake, including a Diamondback Energy position. Large insider- or major-holder selling can weigh on sentiment because investors may view it as profit-taking after a strong run. Stephens family stake sale in Diamondback Energy

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FANG. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $242.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $196.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial set a $242.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.26.

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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