Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 10,626 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,164 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,626 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $9,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $181.87. 241,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,746,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $181.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.70. 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 1-year low of $145.70 and a 1-year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. Diamondback Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is 20.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FANG. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Johnson Rice downgraded Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.64.

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.