Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $195.95.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $214.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank Of America (Bofa) cut their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $147.00 to $129.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $192.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Diamondback Energy from $222.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Matt Zmigrosky sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.94, for a total value of $969,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,619,663.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Travis D. Stice sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 446,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,322,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,675 shares of company stock valued at $11,311,096. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FANG. Founders Capital Management lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 404.0% during the first quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Diamondback Energy by 232.8% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 213 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

Diamondback Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Diamondback Energy stock opened at $199.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Diamondback Energy has a twelve month low of $123.41 and a twelve month high of $211.96. The company has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $188.92 and its 200 day moving average is $167.21.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.13. Diamondback Energy had a net margin of 37.36% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 18.52 EPS for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $3.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $12.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is currently 20.76%.

Diamondback Energy Company Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.