Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 469 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at $49,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $248.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

FANG traded down $3.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $197.44. The company had a trading volume of 316,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,565,026. The company has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $197.98 and a 200-day moving average of $188.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.08 and a 1-year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.