Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 412.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,799 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,276 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $202.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.09.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $144.82 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.61.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 81.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares in the company, valued at $17,214,835.05. This represents a 7.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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