Western Financial Corporation lessened its stake in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG – Get Rating) by 15.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,108 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 931 shares during the period. Western Financial Corporation's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,605,000. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 210.4% during the 2nd quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 16,450 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $1,993,000 after purchasing an additional 11,150 shares during the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 276.7% in the 2nd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,611 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 4,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 68.3% in the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,300 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $170.00 to $143.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $203.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 18th. MKM Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Diamondback Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.89.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 1st. The oil and natural gas company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 42.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 64.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 26.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 16th were paid a $3.05 dividend. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $12.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.03%.

Diamondback Energy declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, August 1st that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and natural gas company to purchase up to 17.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Diamondback Energy Profile

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Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration, and exploitation of unconventional and 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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