Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,593 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 404.0% in the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $49,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded down $3.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $197.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 313,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,935. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $197.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.62. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.08 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy 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.