Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $169.53 and last traded at $169.35, with a volume of 1079055 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FANG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $195.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $173.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Scotiabank set a $175.00 price target on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Diamondback Energy to $188.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $185.90.

Diamondback Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $48.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.63 and its 200-day moving average is $147.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles Alvin Meloy sold 377,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.61, for a total transaction of $52,382,243.71. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,044,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,828,599.04. The trade was a 26.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Fang Holdings Lp Sgf sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.88, for a total transaction of $162,880,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 98,686,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,074,094,093.76. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,438,516 shares of company stock worth $225,026,921. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 274 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC increased its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 5,090 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.3% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,719 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Diamondback Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,030 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.