Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,004 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,031 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 5,004 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,869,787 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,391,567,000 after acquiring an additional 176,208 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,596,427 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $514,534,000 after acquiring an additional 83,883 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,213,631 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $343,296,000 after buying an additional 188,590 shares in the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 1,520,447 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $235,791,000 after buying an additional 65,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,094,071 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $216,812,000 after buying an additional 112,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FANG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Susquehanna upped their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.85.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded down $3.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $204.17. 1,128,402 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,063. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.77. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.68 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share 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 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% 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.