Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 538,212 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 83.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,890 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 538,212 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $17,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 10.9% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,455 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 443 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 171,737 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $29,607,000 after acquiring an additional 25,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,185 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FANG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $215.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $206.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Four equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG stock traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, reaching $160.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,455,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,611. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.09 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $157.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.57. 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 (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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. On average, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.