LRI Investments LLC Invests $78,000 in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 388 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,869,787 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,391,567,000 after purchasing an additional 176,208 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,596,427 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $514,534,000 after purchasing an additional 83,883 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,213,631 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $343,296,000 after purchasing an additional 188,590 shares during the last quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 1,520,447 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $235,791,000 after buying an additional 65,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,094,071 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $216,812,000 after buying an additional 112,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.65.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $200.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 775,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,121. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.36. The stock has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.71 and a twelve month high of $214.50.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

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.