Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 236,912 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned 0.08% of Diamondback Energy worth $38,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 276 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.50. 7,798,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,869,893. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.88 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.80 and a 200 day moving average of $170.76. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.09 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. On average, analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Diamondback Energy's payout ratio is 25.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Williams Trading set a $190.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.92.

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.