Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 613.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 858,446 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $128,720,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,266,640 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,209,617,000 after purchasing an additional 648,317 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 577,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $73,608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 approximately $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096 over the last 90 days. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FANG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $129.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $196.05.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $206.34. 1,526,926 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,785,688. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.41 and a 1-year high of $211.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.73 and a 200 day moving average of $165.53.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.29 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.52 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $3.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.76%.

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.