SCP Investment LP Buys 2,200 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

SCP Investment LP lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,808 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Diamondback Energy makes up about 0.9% of SCP Investment LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. SCP Investment LP’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 196,943 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after buying an additional 21,396 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,778 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $875,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 69,563 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $11,397,000 after purchasing an additional 7,790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $157.54 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.66 and its 200 day moving average is $169.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.09 and a 52-week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly 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. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

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.