Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Holdings Raised by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,472 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FANG. UBS Group increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.09.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG opened at $152.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $165.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.00 and a 12-month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Diamondback Energy 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.