This oil company's top executives cashed in as the stock climbed to a 16-month high

By Tomi Kilgore

Diamondback Energy's largest shareholder also sold stock, worth about $1.9 billion, in the wake of the Iran conflict

Diamondback Energy CEO Kaes Van't Hof (L) and Executive Chairman Travis Stice (R) sold shares after the stock had rallied to a 16-month high in the wake of the Iran conflict.

Shares of Diamondback Energy dropped Wednesday after the oil-and-gas company disclosed that its largest shareholder and a number of its C-suite executives had sold during the rally on the back of the Iran conflict.

The company (FANG) stated in a late Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that SGF Fang Holdings LP sold 11 million of its shares, raising approximately $1.9 billion. That implies a price for the sale of about $172.73, which was 3.2% below where the stock closed on Tuesday.

The beneficial owner of SGF Fang Holdings shares is Lyndal Stephens Greth, who was listed as the world's 83rd-richest person as of March 10 by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Her father, Autry Stephens, founded Endeavor Energy Resources, which was acquired by Diamondback in September 2024 - a month after he had died.

After the stock sale, SGF Fang Holdings still owned 85.7 million Diamondback shares, or 30.5% of the shares outstanding, which were received after the sale of Endeavor Energy. The implied sale price was just above where Diamondback's stock closed on Sept. 10, 2024 - the day the sale closed - at $171.49.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The stock fell 1.2% in recent afternoon trading on Wednesday, and was on track for its lowest close since just before the Iran conflict began on Feb. 28. Through Tuesday, it had gained 2.5% this month, closing at a 16-month high on March 6 and again on March 9.

It wasn't just Greth that took advantage of the stock's rally.

CEO Kaes Van't Hof sold 10,000 shares in the open market at $180.84 on March 6, to raise $1.8 million. According to a Form 144 filing with the SEC, Van't Hof had acquired those shares in March and May of 2024 as part of his compensation package. He still owned 148,614 shares of the sale, valued at $26.1 million at current prices.

Executive Chairman Travis Stice sold 100,000 shares in the open market on March 6, worth $18.1 million. About a third of those shares were received in March 2025 as part of his compensation package, while the rest were received in March 2024.

Another C-suite executive, Chief Financial Officer Jere Thompson, sold $136,260 worth of shares on March 6, which he acquired in 2024 through equity compensation.

The list of insider sellers goes on. Chief Operating Officer Danny Wesson sold 20,000 shares valued at $3.6 million on March 6. Unlike Van't Hof and Thompson, Wesson received those shares just five days earlier, also part of his equity compensation.

Over the two days to March 9, Chief Accounting Officer Tracy Dick sold $1 million worth of stock, which she acquired in 2024.

In total, 11.14 million shares were sold, valued at $1.92 billion. That's about 3.9% of Diamondback's market capitalization of $49..73 billion at current stock prices.

The stock has rallied 17.3% so far this year, while the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF XLE has run up 26.7% and the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 21.4% over the same time.

-Tomi Kilgore

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03-11-26 1353ET