Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $76.33 Million Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,643 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 76,440 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Diamondback Energy worth $76,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG traded up $0.29 on Friday, hitting $181.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,579,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,845,321. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $53.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.89. 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17.1 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is 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 that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised Diamondback Energy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.64.

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.