Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,428 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FANG. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, October 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 3.2 %

FANG stock opened at $176.60 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.33. The stock has a market cap of $51.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.78 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

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.