Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.69 Million Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,593 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at $49,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded down $3.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $197.75. 313,163 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,935. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.08 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.98 and a 200 day moving average of $188.62.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

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.