Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd cut its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,500 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 1,274 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 4.5% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 859 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG traded down $3.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $204.17. 1,128,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,063. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.77. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.68 and a 12 month high of $211.96. The stock has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given 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 dividend yield of 1.76%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.