Montgomery Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Montgomery Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,132 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Diamondback Energy comprises 2.8% of Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $7,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FANG. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $42,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 28.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $166.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.86. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $147.93 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.68 and a 200 day moving average of $180.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on FANG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Four investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.