Earnest Partners LLC Has $42.71 Million Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 260,684 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 40,890 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Diamondback Energy worth $42,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 198,283 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $32,485,000 after purchasing an additional 43,361 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 631.1% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,148 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,069,000 after purchasing an additional 37,246 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 48.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $28,008,000 after buying an additional 47,951 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 31,467 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $5,155,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

FANG stock opened at $136.76 on Monday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $114.00 and a one year 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's fifty day moving average is $145.04 and its 200 day moving average is $162.57. The firm has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a PE 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given 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 was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. This represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.96.

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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