Banco Santander S.A. Sells 968 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Banco Santander S.A. decreased its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,231 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $13,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc increased its position 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 310 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FANG. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued 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 Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $140.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $163.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.50. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.94 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio 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.