Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases 7,200 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,400 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $5,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FANG. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $155.46 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.00 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FANG. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.