SCP Investment LP Cuts Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

SCP Investment LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,608 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Diamondback Energy makes up approximately 0.6% of SCP Investment LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. SCP Investment LP’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,158,910 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $372,196,000 after purchasing an additional 439,579 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 280.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,144,000 after purchasing an additional 402,026 shares during the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ FANG opened at $180.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $181.39 and its 200 day moving average is $191.07. The company has a market capitalization of $52.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.70 and a fifty-two week high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total transaction of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 92.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $233.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.00.

About Diamondback Energy

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.