Eventide Asset Management LLC Sells 1,776 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Eventide Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,332 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 1,776 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 182.9% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 232 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 11,125 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 27,887 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $142.74 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $114.00 and a one year high of $200.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 1.14.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by ($0.05). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 27.25% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The business had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 48.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Travis D. Stice sold 20,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.80, for a total value of $2,913,120.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 102,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,586,306. This trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $211.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $193.17.

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.