Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Holdings Cut by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. reduced its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,512 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 26,378 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $18,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,455 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 27.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 443 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 17.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 171,737 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $29,607,000 after acquiring an additional 25,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 8.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,185 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, Director Frank D. Tsuru purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, for a total transaction of $313,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $160.23 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $137.09 and a one year high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.88. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.85.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FANG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $167.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Williams Trading set a $190.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $227.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $206.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $214.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.33.

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.