Apollo Management Holdings L.P. Invests $31.94 Million in Diamondback Energy, Inc. $FANG

Apollo Management Holdings L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 232,438 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,937,000. Diamondback Energy comprises approximately 0.4% of Apollo Management Holdings L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Diamondback Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Estabrook Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 49.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 368 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $156.68 on Friday. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $114.00 and a 1-year high of $180.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.63.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.14. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 27.32%.The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 27.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FANG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $183.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total value of $52,382,243.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Company 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.