Moody National Bank Trust Division Raises Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,120 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,120 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $4,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 1,907 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $2.84 during trading on Monday, reaching $177.61. 3,035,415 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,211,468. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $147.93 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.62.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FANG. BMO Capital Markets raised Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $210.08.

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.