1,820,959 Shares in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,820,959 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,327,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 310 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.09.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $139.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $138.94 and a one year high of $214.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 25.32%.

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.