Howard Financial Services LTD. Raises Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,584 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,115 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 6,170 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,796 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $200.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,104,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,644,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.73 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Susquehanna raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $201.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,900 shares of company stock worth $7,362,750. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.