Insider Selling: Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Steven West sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.35, for a total value of $1,130,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,561.40. The trade was a 57.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Diamondback Energy stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $190.31. 3,251,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,951,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $193.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.28.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.43.

Key Stories Impacting Diamondback Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Diamondback Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised price targets and reiterations surfaced this week (Raymond James raised its PT to $240; UBS, Wells Fargo and others boosted targets), supporting upside expectations and likely fueling buying interest. Raymond James PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwinds: Bank of America and other outlets highlighted a tighter oil supply outlook (Strait of Hormuz disruptions) that lifts the U.S. energy outlook and makes Permian producers like Diamondback attractive. BofA Oil Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.05 (annualized $4.20, ~2.2% yield), which can support investor demand from income-focused holders. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data reported no material short position (short-interest ratio ~0 days), which suggests limited short-squeeze dynamics but also little bearish positioning to unwind. (Data point: March 19 short interest update.)
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling: EVP Matt Zmigrosky disclosed a sizeable sale (reported filings show cumulative sales — including a 20,899-share disposition), which may concern some investors about insider conviction. Zmigrosky SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales: CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 5,000 shares (~$950k) and CFO Jere Thompson III sold 750 shares; multiple insider dispositions in a short window can weigh on sentiment despite being common for tax or diversification reasons. Teresa Dick SEC Filing Thompson SEC Filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 493,958 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $74,257,000 after acquiring an additional 129,603 shares during the last quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $377,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 38,871 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,844,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 338,577 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,890,000 after purchasing an additional 47,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $973,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% 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.