Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

Several brokerages have recently commented on DEC. Citigroup decreased their price target on Diversified Energy from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Johnson Rice upgraded Diversified Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Diversified Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. William Blair began coverage on Diversified Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Diversified Energy from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Activity at Diversified Energy

In other news, Director Randall S. Wade sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.28, for a total transaction of $27,888,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,501,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,621,048.80. This trade represents a 21.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diversified Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEC. EIG Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Diversified Energy in the fourth quarter worth $139,031,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Diversified Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,894,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Diversified Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $46,334,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in Diversified Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,463,000. Finally, Tejara Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Diversified Energy by 1,903.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 1,905,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.51% of the company’s stock.

Diversified Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DEC opened at $14.58 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.46. Diversified Energy has a fifty-two week low of $10.08 and a fifty-two week high of $16.85.

Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter. Analysts expect that Diversified Energy will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diversified Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. Diversified Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 78.91%.

Diversified Energy Company Profile

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE: DEC) is an independent oil and natural gas producer focused on the acquisition and optimization of legacy onshore assets in the United States. The company’s portfolio spans thousands of producing wells and extensive leasehold positions across core regions such as Appalachia, the Permian Basin and the Mid-Continent. By targeting mature properties, Diversified Energy seeks to enhance long-term recovery through operational efficiencies and capital discipline.

The company’s business model centers on fee-based infrastructure and midstream services that provide stable and predictable cash flows.