Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,460 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,947 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 2,460 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,387 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $6,684,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 23.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,116 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,919 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $9,593,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 45.1% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 296,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $59,407,000 after acquiring an additional 92,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth $10,229,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG traded down $0.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $170.41. 1,183,343 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,877,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.93 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $49.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.00.

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.