Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 35,291 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 359,966 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 35,291 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.12% of Diamondback Energy worth $58,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in 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 increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,066,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $19,163,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 368.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,784 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 7,694 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $157.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $206.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.33.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG stock traded down $20.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $141.28. The company had a trading volume of 5,413,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,673. The company has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $157.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.51. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.09 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

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.