Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 171,785 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,214,390 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 171,785 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.76% of Diamondback Energy worth $362,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FANG traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $135.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,130,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,335. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.00 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.02. The stock has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy 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 purchase, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $194.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.13.

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.