Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $228.90

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $228.90.

A number of research analysts recently commented on FANG shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $259.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital set a $212.00 price objective on Diamondback Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $221.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Diamondback Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles Meloy sold 33,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.74, for a total transaction of $6,124,605.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 759,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,617,411.36. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Travis Stice sold 75,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.31, for a total transaction of $15,323,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,159,723.37. The trade was a 60.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 141,666 shares of company stock valued at $28,061,456 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,072 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 4.7% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 5,530 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 10.6% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its stake in shares of Diamondback Energy by 15.8% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 1,248 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $191.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Diamondback Energy has a 1 year low of $137.03 and a 1 year high of $216.90. The firm has a market cap of $53.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.22.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and natural gas company reported $6.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 51.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Diamondback Energy will post 20.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 85.77%.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas. The company focuses primarily on the acquisition, development, exploration and production of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Diamondback’s operations are concentrated in the Midland and Delaware sub-basins, where it develops properties using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Its production includes crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.