Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 667,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 52,633 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Diamondback Energy worth $103,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,655 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, March 4th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.37.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

FANG traded up $3.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.50. 1,873,692 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,745,569. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.41 and a 1-year high of $211.96. The stock's 50-day moving average is $194.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.58. The stock has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.91.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.94, for a total value of $969,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,619,663.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Diamondback Energy

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.