Insider Selling: Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Sells 75,000 Shares of Stock

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Director Travis Stice sold 75,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 49,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,159,723.37. This trade represents a 60.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of FANG traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $205.72. 1,769,241 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,547,731. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $197.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.88. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.30 and a twelve month high of $216.90. The stock has a market cap of $57.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $5.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 85.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $221.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 264.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 186 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $28,000. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The company’s operations are concentrated primarily in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins.

Diamondback produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include drilling and completing horizontal wells, operating gathering and infrastructure assets, and managing mineral and royalty interests through its Viper Energy platform.