Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Holdings Decreased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129,514 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 17,356 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $21,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,858,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,892 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,249,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 12.7 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $123.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $155.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.82. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.85 and a 1 year high of $214.50.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 25.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy 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.