Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup started coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) in a report published on Monday, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $195.00 price target on the oil and natural gas company’s stock.

FANG has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $154.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $201.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Diamondback Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an overweight rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $209.73.

Diamondback Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FANG opened at $190.70 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Diamondback Energy has a 1-year low of $145.70 and a 1-year high of $214.50.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.01. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Diamondback Energy will post 19.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $2.34 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s payout ratio is presently 20.29%.

Insider Activity at Diamondback Energy

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Diamondback Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FANG. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Diamondback Energy by 38.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,609,143 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $1,706,076,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381,488 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 235.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,730,482 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $541,844,000 after buying an additional 1,916,900 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp purchased a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $87,940,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,012,329 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $603,038,000 after acquiring an additional 415,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Diamondback Energy by 280.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 545,202 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $109,144,000 after acquiring an additional 402,026 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Diamondback Energy

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.