Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 749,104 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,656 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Diamondback Energy worth $129,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock opened at $179.91 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $181.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.96. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.64.

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.