Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 20,736 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Channing Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 34.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,582 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 20,736 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $6,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $3,058,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,102 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $152,177,000 after purchasing an additional 577,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

FANG stock traded up $3.05 on Monday, reaching $204.55. 953,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,035. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.84. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.91. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $123.41 and a one year high of $211.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.36% and a net margin of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 18.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,218 shares in the company, valued at $15,031,153.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares in the company, valued at $18,532,416. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,031,153.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.68.

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.