Empirical Finance LLC Trims Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 38.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,811 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 3,629 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Capital Management raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 320 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FANG shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $154.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $249.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.85.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $195.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $199.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.41. The stock has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.90. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $143.08 and a 52 week high of $214.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.