Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 83.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,890 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 538,212 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $17,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,858,555 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,044,415,000 after acquiring an additional 149,871 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,618,560 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $793,611,000 after buying an additional 266,299 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $682,036,000 after buying an additional 502,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,817,554 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $461,600,000 after buying an additional 658,644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $160.23 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.09 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.88. The company has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced 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%. Analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS 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 dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.