Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $185.00 price objective on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on FANG. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set an overweight rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $249.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $243.00 to $236.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Diamondback Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $209.71.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FANG opened at $178.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.26 and its 200-day moving average is $195.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $143.08 and a 1-year high of $214.50. The stock has a market cap of $31.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.89.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $2.34 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 31.5% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,062 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $966,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,229,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Diamondback Energy by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 296,752 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $59,407,000 after acquiring an additional 92,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $402,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.