Norden Group LLC Invests $3.10 Million in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,626 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,095,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during 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 stake in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,633 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after acquiring an additional 6,240 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,102 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of FANG stock opened at $206.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.90. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.73 and a 1-year high of $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.62.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.06 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $212.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.35.

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.