2,808 Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 6.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 46,696 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $8,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FANG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,303,362,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $852,791,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,420,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,886,351,000 after buying an additional 3,918,943 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $268,855,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $176,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Travis D. Stice sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at $10,159,723.37. This represents a 60.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total transaction of $6,124,605.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 759,864 shares in the company, valued at $139,617,411.36. This represents a 4.20% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,666 shares of company stock worth $28,061,456. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of FANG stock opened at $207.13 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.03 and a 1-year high of $216.90. The company has a market cap of $58.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.52.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 21.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $211.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Roth Capital raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $259.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.71.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves. The company’s operations are concentrated in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, particularly the Midland and Delaware Basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from horizontal wells and related infrastructure. Its activities include drilling and completing wells, operating gathering and processing assets, and managing midstream services that support production.