HM Payson & Co. Has $1.53 Million Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

HM Payson & Co. reduced its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,361 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 931 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $140.11 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.94 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.97 and a 200-day moving average of $173.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 25.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Diamondback Energy

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.