Empowered Funds LLC Sells 28,113 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,108 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 28,113 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $19,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 7.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 56,299 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $9,706,000 after buying an additional 4,020 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.0% during the third quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 2,669 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 399.6% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 18,111 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 14,486 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 391.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,902 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 4,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,689 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG traded down $5.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $176.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,123,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,753,036. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.70 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $51.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.89. 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 50-day simple moving average is $181.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.63.

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

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FANG. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.