Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $184.82 and last traded at $183.57, with a volume of 770480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FANG. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $183.00 to $171.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, January 16th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $182.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $161.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.25.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by ($0.26). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 11.07%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 74.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total value of $162,880,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 98,686,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 60,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.12, for a total transaction of $9,764,677.60. Following the sale, the director owned 982,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,220,806.72. The trade was a 5.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,939 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $8,671,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Diamondback Energy by 78.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,178 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $2,086,000 after buying an additional 6,665 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at $1,113,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 32.8% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 2.4% during the second quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,144 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc (NASDAQ: FANG) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the development, exploration and production of unconventional resources in the Permian Basin. Headquartered in Midland, Texas, the company concentrates its operations in the core Midland and Delaware sub‑basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it pursues contiguous acreage positions to support repeatable drilling programs.

Diamondback’s activities span the upstream value chain, including leasehold acquisition, well planning, drilling, completion and production optimization.