Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires 4,190 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 48.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,924 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,190 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 667,177 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $103,466,000 after acquiring an additional 52,633 shares during the period. Berry Wealth Group LP bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $358,000. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $282,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on FANG shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.53.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total transaction of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096 in the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $196.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.41 and a 12 month high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its 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. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 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.