Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Diamondback Energy from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $227.00 to $224.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $185.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $209.35.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of FANG opened at $200.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $196.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.50. Diamondback Energy has a 52-week low of $125.73 and a 52-week high of $211.96.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.29 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 36.71% and a return on equity of 19.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy will post 19.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Jere W. Thompson III sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.90, for a total transaction of $179,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,516,241.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Daniel N. Wesson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.14, for a total transaction of $1,182,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 69,677 shares in the company, valued at $13,736,123.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,900 shares of company stock worth $7,362,750 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FANG. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,717 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,633 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $7,852,000 after buying an additional 6,240 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 145.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 11,993 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,860,000 after buying an additional 7,102 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 748.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 15,221 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 13,426 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Diamondback Energy by 613.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,401 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.