Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 11,892 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,714 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 11,892 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.12% of Diamondback Energy worth $34,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 559.0% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 257 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG opened at $201.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $194.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.21. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.27. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Diamondback Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $129.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.53.

Diamondback Energy 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.