Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,828 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 1,957 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,612 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 424 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.4% in 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. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $198.93. 186,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,569,641. The company has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.92. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $142.71 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.80.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.65.

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.