Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,019 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $87,000. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 40,692 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

FANG stock opened at $162.01 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.00 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $167.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.89. 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 $47.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

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.