Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 24,487 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 332,416 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,487 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Diamondback Energy worth $54,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FANG. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $135.71. The stock had a trading volume of 2,130,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,092,335. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $146.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.02. The company has a market cap of $39.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.00 and a 12 month high of $214.50.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FANG. Barclays decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.