Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 74.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,755 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 260 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,662,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,934. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.60. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a market cap of $47.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.88.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % 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. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FANG. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $227.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.17.

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.