Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,200 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $4,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 32.6% during the third quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth $604,000. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at $352,000. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 9,478 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 416.4% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 4,544 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 3,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG opened at $184.38 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.02. The company has a market cap of $54.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $2.34 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 18.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $154.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.09.

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.