Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,160,000 shares, a drop of 6.4% from the March 15th total of 5,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total value of $384,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 62.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,227,655 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $965,786,000 after buying an additional 2,388,547 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,007,599 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $465,817,000 after purchasing an additional 858,446 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $128,720,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,266,640 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,209,617,000 after buying an additional 648,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $152,177,000 after buying an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock traded down $1.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $203.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,331,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,844. The firm has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.93. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $123.41 and a 1-year high of $211.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.16 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 18.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $3.08 per share. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.04%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FANG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.95.

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.