Meridian Management Co. Buys 426 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Meridian Management Co. raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,883 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Diamondback Energy comprises 0.9% of Meridian Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $215.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.64.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $179.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.70 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.61%.

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.