Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 98.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 929 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 63,430 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 49,489 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $8,108,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 4,669 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 12,855 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,048 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 51,522 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $8,441,000 after acquiring an additional 15,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1,470.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 46,897 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 43,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $136.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.15 billion, a PE ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average price is $146.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.02. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is presently 25.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "reduce" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $157.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $175.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.75.

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.

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