Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 2,370 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,341 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 2,370 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% in the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on FANG. StockNews.com cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.45.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $172.42 on Monday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $143.08 and a one year high of $214.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 3.64. The firm has a market cap of $30.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.87.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 19.08 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

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