Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Takes $580,000 Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,869,787 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,391,567,000 after acquiring an additional 176,208 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,266,640 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,209,617,000 after acquiring an additional 648,317 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,494,159 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,175,000 after acquiring an additional 89,663 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,596,427 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $514,534,000 after acquiring an additional 83,883 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,213,631 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $343,296,000 after acquiring an additional 188,590 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $201.84. 30,864 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,362. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.42 and a 52-week high of $211.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $196.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $36.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.90.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on FANG. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $243.00 price target for the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.35.

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.