Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Short Interest Up 23.6% in November

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,390,000 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the October 31st total of 5,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction 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 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 74.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 39,485 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,824,000 after purchasing an additional 16,804 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth about $73,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,283,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 265.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,488 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $9,213,000 after buying an additional 33,772 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 345.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,963 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,767,000 after acquiring an additional 10,827 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG traded up $1.40 on Monday, reaching $177.59. The company had a trading volume of 820,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,684. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $145.70 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.82.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 16.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FANG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.65.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.