Maripau Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Maripau Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,314 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,675 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,913,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 198,283 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $32,485,000 after purchasing an additional 43,361 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 631.1% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,148 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $7,069,000 after purchasing an additional 37,246 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $28,008,000 after purchasing an additional 47,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 31,467 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $5,155,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FANG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $227.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares in the company, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG traded down $2.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.70. 3,720,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,419,422. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $165.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $214.50. 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.55 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

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.