DNB Asset Management AS Trims Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

DNB Asset Management AS decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,769 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 156,533 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $5,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smead Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $144,775,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,325,287 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,204,894,000 after acquiring an additional 388,512 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 9.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,642,218 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $637,841,000 after purchasing an additional 384,971 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 44.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 985,844 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $135,456,000 after purchasing an additional 305,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollo Management Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $31,937,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. TD Cowen raised Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $182.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.86.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total value of $52,382,243.71. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,828,599.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total value of $162,880,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,438,516 shares of company stock valued at $225,026,921 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 4.3%

FANG stock opened at $174.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.87. The company has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 0.59. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $177.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 71.30%.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.