What with the drama of the takeover battle for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., just buying back stock in the shale patch can seem humdrum. Judging from the reaction to Diamondback Energy Inc.’s new $2 billion repurchase program, though, investors don’t necessarily see it that way. Diamondback is absorbing its own big deal, the takeover of Energen Corp., which closed in November. The great thing about this is (a) it’s a lot easier to buy your own company, and (b) it sends the right signal about where any excess cash will go. It’s not the most dramatic speech you’ll hear in shale land right now, but it is the right one.

Source: Washington Post May 08, 2019 17:37 UTC