Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 40,353 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 161,067 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,353 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Diamondback Energy worth $26,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wintrust Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings 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 raised its stake 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG stock opened at $136.81 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.00 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The firm has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.10.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $197.70.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.