First National Advisers LLC Acquires 3,520 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

First National Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,936 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $150.20 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.09 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.69.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Williams Trading set a $190.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.