Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Position Boosted by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 96,409 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,532 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $14,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 559.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 257 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $202.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,416,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,755,888. The business’s fifty day moving average is $190.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.93. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.41 and a twelve month high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.29 earnings per share. Diamondback Energy’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.53 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $3.08 dividend. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Barclays began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) reduced their target price on Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total value of $1,153,020.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.17, for a total transaction of $1,153,020.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.35, for a total value of $514,536.25. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,089.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 57,675 shares of company stock worth $11,311,096 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

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.