Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Shares Sold by Ellis Investment Partners LLC

Ellis Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,424 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 367 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,706,076,000 after buying an additional 2,381,488 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $541,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916,900 shares during the period. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter valued at $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $603,038,000 after purchasing an additional 415,902 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $77,510,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $179.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $198.04 and a 200-day moving average of $195.93. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.08 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $32.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.13, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $2.34 per share. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. This represents a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FANG. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

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.