Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 5,192 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,961 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 5,192 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $15,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FANG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $222,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 21.0% in the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 294 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $9,608,000. Palo Duro Investment Partners LP bought a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $1,757,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,489,391 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $261,805,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $197.67 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53 and a beta of 0.43. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.30 and a 12-month high of $216.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 8.58%.Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 20.13 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 83,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.12, for a total transaction of $15,593,458.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 851,530 shares in the company, valued at $159,338,293.60. This trade represents a 8.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.90, for a total value of $1,406,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 85,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,228,179.50. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 124,167 shares of company stock valued at $23,711,609. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FANG has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $246.00 to $243.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $237.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.21.

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.