Diamondback Energy, Inc. (FANG) will double its quarterly dividend $0.375 per share in the first quarter of 2050. Last year the company hiked its dividend by 50.0 percent.

The next dividend is payable on March 10, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 3, 2020. A new annual rate of $1.50 per share yields 1.3% at a stock price of $79.37.

"Looking back, 2019 was a historic year for Diamondback. We successfully integrated our merger with Energen Resources, doubling the size of our Company while achieving greater cost synergies in a shorter period of time than originally promised at time of deal announcement.  We grew pro forma oil production 26% year over year with a $2.9 billion capital budget, increased our dividend by 50% and repurchased 6.4 million shares, or ~4% of our float entering the year.  We sold non-core assets for over $320 million of gross proceeds, dropped down mineral interests to Viper and took our midstream business public with approximately $720 million of net proceeds to Diamondback while retaining 71% post-IPO ownership.  In November, we executed the final piece of our synergy scorecard and refinanced $3.0 billion of the Company's long-term debt following our upgrade to investment grade at a weighted average 3.23% interest rate," stated Travis Stice, Chief Executive Officer of Diamondback in the company's press release today announcing the dividend hike.

Mr. Stice continued, "While we are proud of what we accomplished in 2019, we do not spend time looking backward at our tracks in the sand, but rather looking ahead and concentrating on the future.  2020 has already brought its own industry challenges, and we are focused on navigating these challenges by staying disciplined, improving our industry-leading cost structure, growing production, increasing environmental transparency, and returning more cash to stockholders as evidenced by our dividend announcement today.  Should commodity prices weaken further or remain weak for an extended period of time, we will act responsibly as we have many times in the past and reduce capital spending.  If commodity prices strengthen, we will grow oil production within our previously announced 2020 budget, and return cash to stockholders or pay down debt.”

Diamondback Energy, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. The company's operations are directed primarily at the large acreage areas of the Clearfork, Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Cline, Strawn and Atoka formations, collectively known as the Wolfberry Trend. Diamondback Energy became a public company in 2012 and initiated a quarterly dividend in 2018.