Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) Stock Jumps 4.1% – Still a Buy?

Diversified Energy Company PLC (NYSE:DEC)’s share price shot up 4.1% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $14.66 and last traded at $14.7390. 93,798 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 925,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.16.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DEC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Diversified Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Mizuho set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Diversified Energy in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Diversified Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Diversified Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Diversified Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Diversified Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.50.

Diversified Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.58 and a beta of -0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.64.

Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.49). The company had revenue of $442.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $492.98 million. On average, analysts expect that Diversified Energy Company PLC will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diversified Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Diversified Energy’s payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DEC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Diversified Energy by 443.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in Diversified Energy by 8.3% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,148,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,383,000 after acquiring an additional 470,823 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Diversified Energy during the second quarter valued at about $988,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Diversified Energy by 6.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Diversified Energy during the second quarter worth about $26,000. 26.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Diversified Energy Company Profile

Diversified Energy Company plc is an independent energy company that owns and operates a portfolio of mature, producing oil and natural gas wells in the United States. The company focuses on acquiring long-life conventional assets and managing them through their full operating lifecycle, with activities spanning production, maintenance, infrastructure management and well retirement.

The company’s operations are concentrated in established U.S. onshore producing regions, including the Appalachian, Central and Rockies areas.