Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,929 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 2,227 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after purchasing an additional 928,429 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $849,202,000 after buying an additional 571,820 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $769,706,000 after buying an additional 91,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $682,036,000 after acquiring an additional 502,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $638,050,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on FANG shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $240.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price target on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $136.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $145.04 and its 200-day moving average is $162.78. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.00 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Diamondback Energy 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.

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