SCP Investment LP Purchases 2,000 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

SCP Investment LP increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 111.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,800 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Diamondback Energy accounts for approximately 0.5% of SCP Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. SCP Investment LP’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GDS Wealth Management bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $14,051,000. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Simmons Bank grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 7,577 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,038,862 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $161,107,000 after buying an additional 33,897 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $328,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FANG. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.68.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total transaction of $1,153,020.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,575 shares of company stock valued at $11,491,006 over the last three months. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Diamondback Energy stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $203.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,032,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,728,650. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.91. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.41 and a 12 month high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.91 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.29%.

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.