Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 542,666 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 5,693 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Diamondback Energy worth $77,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% in the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at $41,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total transaction of $52,382,243.71. Following the sale, the director owned 1,044,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. This trade represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of FANG opened at $153.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.59. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.00 and a 52 week high of $180.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 27.32%.The company had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 27.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $199.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.67.

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.