Allstate Corp Takes Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,341 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $875,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,898 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,617 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $5,623,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at $1,066,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $19,163,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 368.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,784 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after acquiring an additional 7,694 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $159.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.09 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $158.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.65.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.