Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,653 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 2,086 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FANG. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,327,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $185,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,505 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth $87,924,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 95.3% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 938,474 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $161,793,000 after purchasing an additional 457,896 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $158.50. 7,798,113 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,871,369. The company has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.51. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.09 and a 1 year high of $214.50. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $1.00 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $227.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.92.

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.