Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Sells 21,400 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. cut its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 69,200 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 21,400 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $11,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wintrust Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 62.4% during 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. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $158.48 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.09 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. The trade was a 53.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FANG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 target price for the company. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $252.00 to $232.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.