Aurora Investment Counsel Lowers Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Aurora Investment Counsel decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,539 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 38.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,706,076,000 after buying an additional 2,381,488 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $541,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916,900 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $603,038,000 after purchasing an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $172.40 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $188.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.43. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $143.08 and a 1 year high of $214.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 3.64.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results 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. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $2.34 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FANG. Barclays upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $231.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $255.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.76.

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.