Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 31,980 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,620 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after buying an additional 31,980 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $18,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its stake 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $176.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $182.13 and its 200 day moving average is $190.18. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.26 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FANG. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised shares of Diamondback Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $216.00 to $210.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.00.

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.