SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 7,407 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 17.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,450 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 7,407 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $8,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Key Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 182.9% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 232 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Hof Matthew Kaes Van’t sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.69, for a total transaction of $1,426,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 120,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,214,835.05. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on FANG. Bank of America increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $193.09.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $148.92 on Thursday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $43.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 81.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.46%.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.