Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 6,285 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 57.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,602 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 6,285 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $912,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,477 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,655 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 29.2% in the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 1,591 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,155 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 5,901 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $963,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CFO Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 12,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.82, for a total value of $2,289,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 185,882 shares in the company, valued at $35,470,003.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Hof Matthew Kaes Van't sold 12,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.82, for a total value of $2,289,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 185,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,470,003.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,575 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,006 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $129.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.95.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded down $1.27 on Tuesday, hitting $196.56. The company had a trading volume of 834,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,861. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $35.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.91. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.41 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $199.68 and a 200 day moving average of $173.73.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

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.

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