Erste Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 97.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 11,340 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,247 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,380 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,795 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG traded up $2.60 on Wednesday, reaching $157.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,973,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,394. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.32 and a 200 day moving average of $170.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.09 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.