Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 48.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,951 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $28,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $156.08 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.93 and a fifty-two 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FANG shares. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded Diamondback Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.70.

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.