Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Acquires $313,020.00 in Stock

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG traded down $2.96 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $145.04. 5,029,342 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,385,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $165.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.34. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.81 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The stock has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 25.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.09.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,682,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 412.1% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,799 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 6,276 shares during the period. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 458.1% in the fourth quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 893 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $847,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.