Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.11.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $177.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FANG opened at $198.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Diamondback Energy has a 12 month low of $123.41 and a 12 month high of $198.53.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 17.93 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $3.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 20.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Hof Matthew Kaes Van’t sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.82, for a total value of $2,289,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 185,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,470,003.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Teresa L. Dick sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.00, for a total transaction of $384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 96,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,532,416. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Hof Matthew Kaes Van’t sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.82, for a total transaction of $2,289,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 185,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,470,003.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,675 shares of company stock worth $5,311,096 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,102 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 981,284 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $152,177,000 after acquiring an additional 577,514 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,348 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $4,861,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $7,153,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,332 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

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.