New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 0.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 197,243 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 713 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $34,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $176.77 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $52.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a current ratio of 3.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.27.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 17.37 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $2.34 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded Diamondback Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.09.

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.