Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,871 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 4,922 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FANG. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 106.3% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 198 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Estabrook Capital Management acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 982,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,438,516 shares of company stock worth $225,026,921. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $177.53 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $159.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $183.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.65 and a beta of 0.59.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.41 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 8.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 71.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $194.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Diamondback Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.86.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub?basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.