King Luther Capital Management Corp Raises Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,305 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,893 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $28,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 310 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $144.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.84. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.09 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

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.