Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Grows Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 320,964 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 72,807 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.18% of Diamondback Energy worth $49,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 39.9% during the third 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 buying an additional 858,446 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $128,720,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the third 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. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the fourth 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. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $73,608,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were 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 directly 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 at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

FANG traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $204.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,518,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,514. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.41 and a 52 week high of $205.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.93. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.03.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $3.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $12.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FANG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $177.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $250.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $191.32.

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.