Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 168,031 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 10,267 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.09% of Diamondback Energy worth $26,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 7,102 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 613.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $152,177,000 after purchasing an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the 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 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 have sold 58,575 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,006 over the last 90 days. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded down $2.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $194.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,145,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,044. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, 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 company has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.87.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. Diamondback Energy's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.98 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Diamondback Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.95.

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.