Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,127 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 105.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 560 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 19,249 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,815,000 after acquiring an additional 5,426 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,604,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 49.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,618 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,953 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.65.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:FANG traded up $1.42 on Wednesday, reaching $199.78. The stock had a trading volume of 661,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,579,112. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.71 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $35.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $197.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

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.