Swiss National Bank Sells 41,100 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 622,399 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 41,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.35% of Diamondback Energy worth $81,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,656,848 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,575,653,000 after purchasing an additional 112,297 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 149.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,257,540 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,521,682,000 after purchasing an additional 6,748,670 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,919,925 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $528,736,000 after purchasing an additional 179,405 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,572,083 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after purchasing an additional 85,618 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,732 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $277,983,000 after purchasing an additional 347,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David L. Houston sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.54, for a total value of $1,252,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,385.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 2,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total value of $425,302.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,319,031.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David L. Houston sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.54, for a total value of $1,252,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,385.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $155.79 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $157.91 and its 200 day moving average is $144.73. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.01 and a 1 year high of $171.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The oil and natural gas company reported $5.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.90 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 20.66% and a net margin of 38.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.48 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $171.00 to $169.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $154.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.17.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration, and exploitation of unconventional and 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.