Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 50.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,339 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 10,340 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 460 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,071 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $5,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 22.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Second Half Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $314,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $180.12 on Wednesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $181.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.07. 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 has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.00.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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