Jennison Associates LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,953 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 119,990 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.06% of Diamondback Energy worth $30,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1,153.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,132,918 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $185,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,505 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at about $87,924,000. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 95.3% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 938,474 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $161,793,000 after buying an additional 457,896 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 25.6% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $372,196,000 after acquiring an additional 439,579 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 17,151.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 340,021 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $58,620,000 after acquiring an additional 338,050 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock opened at $166.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.86. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $147.93 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $168.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.27.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 20.61%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Company 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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