Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Stake Lowered by Ghisallo Capital Management LLC

Ghisallo Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 350,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 350,000 shares during the period. Diamondback Energy makes up about 3.3% of Ghisallo Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Diamondback Energy worth $57,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $200.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.96.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:FANG traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $137.82. 1,663,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,099,377. The firm's fifty day moving average is $144.59 and its 200-day moving average is $162.17. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $114.00 and a 12-month high of $214.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.