Commerce Bank Lowers Stock Position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,879 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 99.2% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “sector outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Diamondback Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Diamondback Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $216.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at $181,732,485.09. This represents a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,712 shares in the company, valued at $852,872. The trade was a 19.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Diamondback Energy stock opened at $185.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.70 and a 12-month high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 20.61%.

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.