Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Sells 4,280 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 81.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 977 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 4,280 shares during the period. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock traded up $2.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $134.83. 2,158,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,099,370. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.78.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $199.00.

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.