Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 2,312 Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,817 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FANG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,136,645 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,496,859,000 after purchasing an additional 928,429 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,169,742 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $849,202,000 after purchasing an additional 571,820 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,165 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $769,706,000 after acquiring an additional 91,605 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,163,070 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $682,036,000 after purchasing an additional 502,916 shares during the period. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $638,050,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $136.76 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.00 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.00. The stock has a market cap of $40.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.44.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.07. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 33.64% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FANG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $215.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $216.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded Diamondback Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $157.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other Diamondback Energy news, Director Frank D. Tsuru acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $156.51 per share, with a total value of $313,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $896,802.30. This trade represents a 53.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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.