Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 50.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,120 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,120 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $4,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the second 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. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.08.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG traded up $3.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $178.13. 1,683,243 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,003,708. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.93 and a 52 week high of $214.50. 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 50 day moving average of $170.76 and a 200-day moving average of $183.77. The stock has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.88.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its 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). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

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.