Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,590,000 shares, a decrease of 12.7% from the December 31st total of 5,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.
In other news, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $852,872. This represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FANG. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 191 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 940.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 208 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 28.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company's stock.
Shares of FANG opened at $164.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.88. Diamondback Energy has a twelve month low of $147.93 and a twelve month high of $214.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $169.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.45.
Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.61%.
A number of research firms recently commented on FANG. Mizuho decreased their price target on Diamondback Energy from $219.00 to $207.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target 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. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $225.00 to $216.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on 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.
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