Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $24.86 Million Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 15.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,287 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,001 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Diamondback Energy worth $24,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,656,848 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,575,653,000 after buying an additional 112,297 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 149.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,257,540 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,521,682,000 after acquiring an additional 6,748,670 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,919,925 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $528,736,000 after acquiring an additional 179,405 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,572,083 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after purchasing an additional 85,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 20.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,056,732 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $277,983,000 after purchasing an additional 347,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG stock opened at $156.15 on Tuesday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.01 and a 52 week high of $171.40. The company has a market capitalization of $27.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 6th. The oil and natural gas company reported $5.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.90 by $0.59. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 38.84% and a return on equity of 20.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David L. Houston sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.54, for a total value of $1,252,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,385.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Diamondback Energy news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 2,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.17, for a total transaction of $425,302.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,031.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David L. Houston sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.54, for a total value of $1,252,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,385.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FANG. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $191.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $178.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Citigroup cut Diamondback Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $154.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.41.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration, and exploitation of unconventional and 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.