Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $195.00 target price on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

FANG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $225.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.09.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

FANG opened at $175.81 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.06. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $145.70 and a 52-week high of $214.50. The company has a market cap of $51.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.51% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. Diamondback Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $2.34 per share. This represents a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 18.60%.

Insider Transactions at Diamondback Energy

In related news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 251 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.