LRI Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 4,252.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,193 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,798 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $87,924,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 938,474 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $161,793,000 after acquiring an additional 457,896 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 439,579 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $603,038,000 after purchasing an additional 415,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FANG traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $167.12. 1,774,596 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,767,787. The stock's 50-day moving average is $181.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.99. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $214.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.88.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 20.61%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.65.

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.