Simmons Bank Purchases 1,013 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,577 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $215,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 33,633 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,209,000 after buying an additional 6,732 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 288,497 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $44,682,000 after acquiring an additional 13,694 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $677,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 58,575 shares of company stock worth $11,491,006. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $203.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,244,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,122. The firm has a market cap of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $196.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.41 and a 52 week high of $211.96.

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

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FANG shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.68.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

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.