DnB Asset Management AS Has $36.43 Million Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 56,332 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $36,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FANG. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,455 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 27.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 443 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 171,737 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $29,607,000 after acquiring an additional 25,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,185 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $160.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.88. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.09 and a 52 week high of $214.50. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $236.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.33.

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.