Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,698 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 59.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,515 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 3,698 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. CWM LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,633 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $7,852,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after purchasing an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $198.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,583,002. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.90. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.71 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.64.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FANG. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $245.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total value of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total value of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.