Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Acquired by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 57.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,300 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 245.1% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 176 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 264.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $198.20 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.25. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.30 and a 52-week high of $214.51. The firm has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.47 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.49. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $1.10 dividend. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 511.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FANG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $187.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, April 27th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 7,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.20, for a total transaction of $1,486,544.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 942,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,362,813.20. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,464 shares of company stock valued at $14,946,406. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.