BLB&B Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,375 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 6,864 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EULAV Asset Management increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 57,000 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $9,338,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $626,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,880 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 456,296 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $74,755,000 after purchasing an additional 22,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $13,804,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

FANG opened at $158.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.75. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.25 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.86.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.