First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 728 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,093 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 559.0% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 257 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $6,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares in the company, valued at $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 in the last quarter. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $201.50 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.41 and a fifty-two week high of $211.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.81. The stock has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.37.

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.