Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,040 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,858,555 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,044,415,000 after buying an additional 149,871 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,618,560 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $793,611,000 after buying an additional 266,299 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $682,036,000 after buying an additional 502,916 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,704,520 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $466,259,000 after buying an additional 230,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $372,196,000 after purchasing an additional 439,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.09.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $140.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.94 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

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.