Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,966 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,291 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.12% of Diamondback Energy worth $58,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. SCP Investment LP boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 6,808 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 196,943 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,704,000 after purchasing an additional 21,396 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Biondo Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,778 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $159.88 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.09 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $158.25 and a 200 day moving average of $169.65. The firm has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.